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For once, Sutai was proud of herself.

She’d protected another civilian by the name of Shiloh, who, she discovered, worked as a janitor in the same judiciary building that Mister Alexei worked. The plucky Squire had not seen the aforementioned Mister Alexei in a few weeks, despite her promise to patrol the premises. Indeed, the older man insisted that such protection wasn’t necessary due to the amount of police and security that came with the position. However, Sutai took it upon herself to be as annoying studious as possible when it came to her patrols around the building.

Besides, Mister Alexei may not know just what dangers lurk around every corner in Destiny City - the kind with teeth and claws that bullets do very little against. Now, with two Knights patrolling about the building, Mister Alexei would obviously be twice as safe.

With a giggle, Sutai lit upon the railing of the second floor stairwell, pulling out her sextant to observe the surrounding area. Her scans hadn’t detected anything, but the scans only went so far. Her constant fidgeting and movement likely made enough noise to alert anyone near the stairwell of her presence - Sutai was never very good at staying quiet anyway.

Sutai was concentrating, heavily invested in spying a pair of hooligans making their way across the street. Really, if one were to purposefully act suspicious, wouldn’t the best place be somewhere other than a judiciary building? It was like jaywalking in front of a police officer. The two men were young, disheveled, hands buried deep in their ratty jean pockets. It was warm enough in the city now that their breath did not form tiny clouds around their mouths. At least they weren’t youma.

She shook her head.

It was then that her name was called by a familiar, stern voice. With a squeak of excitement, the Squire trotted to the door’s threshold, the metal door of which was already propped open for airflow when the Squire arrived. Maybe Shiloh was working on this floor? Poking her head around the corner conspicuously, she waved with ample enthusiasm to one Mister Alexei. No one else seemed to be around so she felt it safe to bounce up to him with her usual pomp and circumstance.

With a curtsy, she delivered her report. “All clear, Mister Alexei!” Sutai was aware someone other than Shiloh and Alexei might be working in the building at this hour, so she worked to keep her voice down despite her enthusiasm. “No youma around here tonight. Not even a Negaverse agent, so that’s very good! Did you and Mister Shiloh make it home okay last time I saw you? Nobody bothered you, right? You never know when the Negaverse might decide to cause trouble.”

Hands on her hips, Sutai rocked back and forth on her heels, proud of her progress thus far. “I try to stay out of the way, I really do. It wasn’t too much of a bother, right? It is my duty to keep you safe, after all. You’re not working too hard, are you, Mister Alexei?”

"Oh! I'm so glad. I admit, I was up later than usual, worrying about the two of you. I felt just so very awful leaving you alone but I know Mister Shiloh already had so much of an awful night and I'd hate to stress him out any more. That near-death experience... brr." She shivered, rubbing her hands against her shoulders. She could remember her first run-in with a youma and how Camelot, Knight of Earth was valiant enough to save her.

It was that night she awakened as Sutai.

She hoped that, eventually, youma would only ever be seen on television as the subject of a documentary. Extinct but remembered for history's sake.

The Squire tittered and giggled when Judge Alexei had admitted to being happy to see Sutai. "Really? Aww, Mister Alexei, you're so nice! No wonder Mister Shiloh likes you so much. But don't you worry about me, I don't get bored because there's so much to do! I have to mentally scan the area for youma and Negaverse agents, and I try to stay out of sight when the security guards come by, and I have my sextant here,"

She raised the instrument in question, pointing to its telescopic lens. "I watch the city! It's really nice to have a small telescope wherever you go. Would you like to give it a try?"

Head lowered, she tried to conceal a sad smile. Mister Alexei didn't seem to know just what she was trying to protect him from. As much as she was bubbly and as much as Alexei was intimidating both in stature and in personality, simple intimidation would never work on a youma.

She quickly placed the device in his outstretched hand, the antique object feeling weighty, well-crafted and perhaps ancient in its design. Bronze in appearance and carefully polished to a smooth finish, the sextant looked as though it belonged in a museum rather than the hands of someone who ran around Destiny City in a tutu.

She waved away his concern over asking too many questions. "No, no, it's fine! It's neat, isn't it? It used to be just a simple telescope when I first got my powers, but then when I got more powers, it changed into this sextant. I don't know how old it is, but it looks like something sailors would use hundreds of years ago, like in the history textbooks! It just... um..."

Sutai made a grand gesture with her hands. "---appeared when Mister Camelot was kind enough to save my life. That night, when I got my powers, that's when the telescope appeared. Just... poof! There it was. I guess the universe didn't want us running around without a weapon. ...of sorts. It's not like I can pew pew people with a telescope, but it was good for bonking."

Now he seemed to be getting it!

Sutai beamed. "Yes! I think it will change again when, you know..." She waved a hand in the air. "...whatever it is that decides we need an upgrade. I don't know what it is, exactly. I call it the universe but I honestly don't know what makes that decision."

She rocked back and forth, tutu bouncing with the motion. Mister Alexei seemed really interested, which was great! A big difference between when they first met and now. Back then, the judge simply thought Sutai was a loon who ran around in a tutu for the fun of it. Maybe now he'd realize the Squire wasn't making things up.

"One day, Mister Alexei," Sutai clasped her hands together, eyes towards the sky, heart aflutter. "One day, I'll be a Knight. Right now, I'm a Squire, but if I work hard enough... Someday I'll be strong like Mister Camelot. He's a Knight too, very strong and brave and kind. I'm not super familiar with the legend of Camelot but I'm named after a mountain, you see. A very snowy mountain!"

Sutai nodded, obviously not at all dressed for snow or mountains.

When the question of mountain climbing came up in the conversation, Sutai sputtered and looked away, clearly embarrassed. She stalled as much as she could with small talk about the weather and whatever sports team was playing that weekend before she realized Alexei wouldn't allow this part of the story to go untold.

"Ah... well, that is... um... yes and no... in that I um... we... that is, Miss Delphi and I, we went to climb part of it but it's very cold and my outfit isn't really made for it, but her outfit is! Miss Delphi has a long and fluffy coat and great furry boots and well... you see what I'm wearing..."

Sutai looked down at herself and frowned. How did she end up with an outfit so different from all of the other Polaris knights? She was the only one that wasn't dressed for cold weather. "But um... I promise I'll try again and make it to the top this time! It's very important that I do that. It's just... very scary and intimidating. I'm sure that something important is there, I just... haven't succeeded yet."

The Squire sighed for a moment to relieve the tension in her neck and shoulders. "Everyone's Wonder is important. Just... some of them are more well-insulated than others." A giggle returned the warmth to Sutai's sunny disposition.

"How many are there?"

The Squire cupped her hands over her cheeks and looked towards the ceiling. How many knights? Goodness... she likely only met a handful and had no real idea just how many knights alone were running around Destiny City. So, she decided to name just the ones she knew about.

"Well, there's Miss Delphi and Mister Alphubel, Mister Camelot and Mister Sessrumnir and Mister Valhalla, Mister Michel and Mister Nifhel, Miss Aventine and Mister Nysa, Miss Hy-Brasil and Mister Whisler... I suppose I haven't met all that many other knights when you really think about it. I'm sure there are plenty more than that, though!"

She seemed more than happy to give out this information to an interested party. It wasn't detrimental, when one really thought about it. It was simply a list of names. Sutai didn't get the impression that Alexei was part of the Negaverse. "I've only been to one Wonder - Miss Delphi's. It's a complex of very important buildings. There's a library and a court room and some towers... it's heated, so it's really nice inside. It's full of books that nobody can read, because we haven't been able to decode the Polarian language. Well, and there's my Wonder - the mountain. What makes them important? Um..."

She rocked back and forth, considering her answer. "I... I suppose it's like, what makes ancient ruins important? There's a lot of neat history at Miss Delphi's Wonder. We all have a special connection to our Wonders. Miss Delphi said that the previous Delphi had a special burial ritual she needed to complete. I'm not sure why, but Miss Delphi said it was very important that she fulfill this duty."

Sutai seemed surprised that Alexei's cellphone would be buzzing at such a late hour. Who was up at this hour that needed the judge's assistance? Trials didn't run this late, did they? Or was it paperwork? The life of a judge was a mystery to the Icecapades escapee. She did respect his work ethic, however.

With a curtsy, the Squire prepared to return to her post. "I promise I'll keep trying and eventually I'll get to the top, Mister Alexei. Then maybe sometime, if you have lots of good winter coats, I can bring you there! That would be pretty neat, wouldn't it? That way, you can maybe satisfy that curiosity of yours. You may also want to bring a space heater, though!"

Bouncing away, she turned to call over her shoulder. "I'll see you later, Mister Alexei~!"

The telltale jingling of her accessories faded as the Squire returned to the stairwell, intent on bouncing her way to the rooftop to survey the city until her self-imposed shift was over.