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He had called for Stillwaterite not out of a desire to demand her attention or loyalty or whatever some generals might have done with their recruits into the Negaverse; but rather to simply appraise her current choices and learn how she was adapting to her new life in an entirely different side of things. Aurostibite did not and would continue to not micromanage; this was merely a checkup. He disliked the mindset that one had to be obsessively attached to all of their recruits, if only because he was quite certain that the ones he'd brought in would do just fine on their own.

(Except for Kainite, but he hadn't seen that guy in many years now, so it didn't count.)

Aurostibite stood now, waiting, not just on his own, but with Mintaka at his side, a warm summer breeze teasing the long strands of hair that fell around his face. It was a hillside just above the city proper, sloping down into an unkempt, mossy field that had once been the site of a local concert and was now overgrown with weeds and wild flowers. In the setting sun, it looked a little eerie and tangled, as though one half expected fairies to push aside the branches and flutter out among the petals.

"She should be here anytime now," said Aurostibite, glancing down at his watch. "I told her nine, after all."

The call from Aurostibite out of the blue was both unexpected yet welcomed. It also made her think of a concierge service at a luxury hotel. Like when they called to inquire about your stay and to make sure everything was pleasant and that you were having the utmost enjoyable time of your experience. Not that she'd know. She hadn't stayed in a hotel, but she'd been watching enough movies as Knot to see it. That aside, she did think it was nice and professional that he wanted to inquire about her well being...and she actually wanted to speak to him, anyways. It was funny how the timing of that worked out. Harmotome had told her he was a good agent to seek physical training from, and she was going to make use of this tid bit of information.

Stillwaterite had teleported as far out as she could go in the requested direction, and then made the rest of the trek on foot. It wasn't bad, and it was a nice area. She was happy to add it to her mental list for teleporting. Soon enough she could sense the....oh! Two top tier signatures. One of the General and one of...she hadn't felt that other one before. Curious, very curious. It was an eternal like herself but different!

Cresting the top of the hill, the party came into sight. Aurostibite still looked just as clean cut and professional as she noted when she had woken up those months ago, and to his side was...Oh.

She was lovely, and was she apart of that cadet Chaos group Machine told her about? She was the source of that different signature, and her uniform was different...she didn't have crazy long hair or any cracks on her skin. Still also couldn't help but note the General's and this woman's closeness, and something about the tenderness of the sight made her heart flutter.

The corrupt smiled once she was close enough, raising a hand in greeting. "Aurostibite. A pleasure to see you." She wasn't worried about her timing. She knew she was right on the dot. She came to a stop in a conversational distance from the pair, and turned black eyes on Mintaka with warm curiosity. "And who might you be, hm? I'm Stillwaterite, but please, Still for short." She held her hand out to the woman.

The couple could be in their own world and still manage a semblance of business. Mintaka knew better then anyone how much Auro treasured his rank and skills in the negaverse. Hard earned after years of dedication. She had been a wrench only for a short while when she was an order senshi vying for his affections, but now?

"I wouldn't doubt your judgement my Love." To be fairly honest, Mintaka's interactions were very limited to corrupt senshi, the last one.....Ate had effected her greatly. She had yet to meet the corrupt since the event....but now? She remained relaxed as another aura joined theirs, and her hand remained in Auro's. A sign that she was not a hostile.

"Good evening Still." Mintaka reached out taking Still's hand gently and then bowing her body a little at her. "You are very beautiful." Politeness schooled her face even as she studied the corrupt.

The corruption in the mark on her forehead and chest made Mintaka wonder if she would've made a beautiful corrupt too and what the cost would've been?

"I'm here to offer my assistance as a member of the dark mirrors." Mintaka smiled, "Have you heard of our court, Miss Still?"

His fingers tangled with hers, a sign of affection that was only reserved for her and no one else. Aurostibite's calm, collected face was one that was presented outwardly and consistently to the rest of the world, but Mintaka had a front row seat to all of the emotions he didn't let himself feel when in the presence of others. And even then, she was able to read him, regardless of what face he wore; it was part of why they had worked, part of why he needed her.

Aurostibite nodded, grateful for the change of subject following his pronouncement of their engagement, feeling the slightest bit flustered. He disliked giving any sort of personal information out to anyone, but Mintaka was smiling and Stillwaterite seemed well at ease, so he managed to relax a fraction, watching them speak.

A brow rose. "You've recruited a lieutenant already?" Aurostibite asked, feeling mildly impressed. "That's quite an accomplishment. I would assume he's shown promise, otherwise you wouldn't have asked for him. And yes, of course," he added, reaching with his free hand to tilt the brim of his hat up. "You can ask me anything you'd like."

He glanced sideways at Mintaka, letting her speak.

Still was amused at how they both seemed surprised. She didn't think she was that ahead. She'd been awake for...seven months now? If she was impressive, than what did that say about others?

"Yes, and yes." She replied to the General, smiling. What she didn't say out loud, was that her new recruit so far had shown the promise of being manipulated by words and the promise of something shiny. It was something she was hoping to work out of him. A little personal pet project. "Ah, thanks! I started working with Harmotome to learn some hand to hand physical combat, and she recommended you as someone else to learn from. My question for you is if you wouldn't mind taking me on as something of a student." Her smile turned a bit rueful.

"I found myself in a predicament where I nearly ran out of magic, and it occurred to me that I need another way to defend myself should the occasion occur again." She needed to be more capable than bound to the limitations of her magic. It was that simple.

She attention snapped back to Mintaka. She was already intrigued before, but now even more so. "Honestly, I would appreciate a general overview from a veteran if that's alright to start. Your faction is spoken about in our training guide but...it's always best from the source." She cocked her head. "You did...? Then, did you experience memory loss, too?"

Unlike Still, Mintaka had long ago accepted that she would never be able to physically combat another person, so her fights always usually ended up with her running away.

Thought the chaos from Pandora's box still effected her in ways she never knew. Uncontrollable rage, burst of speed and strength before fraility. These things, Still didn't know and was the dirtier secrets of the couple.

She felt Auro's hand smooth against her back, taking it as a sign that she could lead the conversation for a bit since he had affirmed his help with the corrupt.

"If you ever would like to spar with another senshi as well." Mintaka was offering herself, and since they were both chaos, it wasn't uncommon for the origami senshi to offer a helping hand. "My corruption was very different." She smiled at the woman. "I was willing to corrupt into the dark mirrors, and because I was more willing, I was allowed to keep memories of my civilian and powered life. Though." She hesitated, "I do not have memories of those on order and their powered forms. I've heard that when you are more willing, the less you suffer from...." She hesitated, "Side effects."

She quickly moved on though. "I was an eternal as well, and was corrupted by a prince. We have a prince and princess dark mirror senshi. Remarque is very..." She mused over the correct word, "neutral. Princess Leto though...." She smiled wistfully, "I would hope you avoid meeting her. She is not fond of the negaverse."

Thinking of the side effects that had stemmed since Mintaka's first foray into the Dark Mirrors still gave Aurostibite nightmares sometimes. The gaunt, hollowed out face. The blank, staring eyes. The way she had felt always drained, or always searching for a mirror, hazy and confused and obsessive, screaming and gasping as he and Hydrus had taken their turns draining the poison from her little by little.

Some of the effects still lingered. He tried not to think of them, his hand on Mintaka growing a little more firm, pressing securely against his fiance's back. Once they were married, and once they were settled, everything would just be that much better. Small pleasures and small fragments of happiness to be taken where they could.

They had come this far, after all.

He caught Stillwaterite's face and grimaced, just a little, but it was barely a movement of his expression, Aurostibite's generally stoic look hardly faltering. He raised his hand to rest on Mintaka's shoulder, keeping her close, and then nodded to what she was saying.

"Connections among the Negaverse and the Dark Mirrors is still a fragile bond," he said. "Some of the agents don't trust the senshi, and some of the senshi don't trust the agents. It's a two way path, however; it's necessary to form what connections we can in order to add strength to our abilities."

Still nodded her head to show she was listening. Interesting. The guide book hinted as much about how things were, as did Machine's short assessment to her. She was really curious as to why, when they happened to be on the same side. She was really interested in learning more from Mintaka, and Aurostibite in turn, since he offered the agent point of view of it.

Brows shot up into Still's bangs though as she listened to Mintaka, and after a moment she couldn't help but laugh. "Wow. That's certainly a story starter right there. You have me on edge with anticipation, Mintaka!" She smiled then. "I would love to hear that, too, and ah, yes!" Her smile widened. "I would love that. Anything to learn more."

Knowledge was key, after all, and the more she knew, the better prepared she was.