Welcome to Gaia! ::

While he had not succeeded in finding a bar to his liking, Bjorn's mood could still be lifted by one other thing: finding his ward. While it was a slight problem to locate, or at least isolate some possible locations, the guardian did understand a core concept when it came to America--and that was figuring out where the little noble liked to hide. Typically it was where someone was doing something interesting, as she had a habit of trying to learn about people, or at the very least proving she was the best at this or that. Having spent several hours checking Conquest's and Death's floors, he made the trek down the stairs to Famine's, sighing deeply. He did not know whether or not classes were still ongoing in the wake of the strange event the day before, but he had to find America before he could begin to feel at peace.

But he was also really, really not in the mood to play hide and seek, not just yet.

So at the entrance of the office spaces, he cupped his mouth and yelled into the floor, "AMERICA, COME OUT THIS INSTANT!" in hopes of saving himself time. He really, really did not want to go investigating the sticky, usually confusing mess that was the 90% labs on the Famine floor. Gods, he hoped the little one hadn't gotten herself mixed up in an experiment again...The last time she had, she hadn't stopped burping something sulfurous and foul, and the last thing Bjorn wanted to deal with was washing out her mouth again.

(Although judging by her texting, he was probably going to have to do so anyway.)

It wasn't America, but someone was giggling at the scream Bjorn let out as he searched for his ward. Her laughter was echoey, which made sense since she was higher on the ceiling than she should have been. But there was a beautiful piece of mangled metal embedded into the ceiling - perhaps the fallout from a chemical explosion, perhaps just someone getting too angry for their own good. Whatever the case, Maebe was hanging on a beam by her legs, slowly attempting to dig the thing out.

She flopped until she was hanging upside down by her knees, her hair waving almost longer than the rest of her, and waved a very sharp looking tool at Bjorn from her perch. "Before you ask, I haven't seen her!" She admits, putting her hands up - down? - in innocence.

Making a face at Bjorn's pleasantries, America stayed hidden in her basket, feeling relatively secure in the little corner it sat in. It was tempting, of course, to pop out and explain how last time was not an accident. Everything was completely intentional except for the unforeseen consequences of those intentions.

Why does she always have to explain this?

Biting her tongue, the young horseman kept watching, vaguely hoping but also vaguely dreading the two were gonna be gross and already formulating plans on how to Ruin Everything if necessary.

He chuckled and caught her nearly weightless body with ease, like it was a practiced act.

"I would enjoy that very much," Bjorn said with a much wider smile, thankful that he had such dark complexion that his blush would be hidden. "I would have to thank you personally should we find her. Perhaps when we are at home, which is where I will be returning her."

"Personally?" Her eyes widened. "What kind of personal gratitude should I be expecting, I wonder?" She grinned and then shifted her eyes, very subtly, from his to the basket that had just moved nearby. If he didn't catch on to what she was doing, she'd just keep trying with a little more obvious intent until he finally got the message.

"It would be a shame if we found her too soon. I'm good right where I am." But of course, her sly words were tempered with the knowledge that she was pointing Bjorn in the right direction, but urging him to be stealthy about it.

It was the my desert rose that did it. "Gross." Covering her mouth, America tried to think fast. After a second, she made a questionable buzzing sound.

Yep. Nobody in here except us bees.

He thought to say something then, something along the lines of If you would let me, but America's voice rang clear enough to give him pause.

"My lady, a moment!" He raised his hand towards Maebe and cautiously approached the buzzing basket. "It seems someone has left some dangerous specimen out in the open. Let me clear this hazard for you."

He raised his other hand, and the large war axe appeared--

Maebe was wholly unprepared for the girl to tip back and fall into her, so she was on the ground instantly, letting out a little 'oof' when her a** hit the floor. After the first seconds of being stunned wore off, she cackled up into the air, horribly amused by the accident. She could feel the weight of America's little body where it dented her hips, and she patted the girls shoulders to indicate she would help her up.. if she could.

"You were right. A very dangerous specimen indeed."