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As luck, or whatever other driving force of the universe, would have it, Mercy had not changed dorm rooms at the end of her freshman year. The damage to the window from her and Arthur's testing with her now very functional flashlight had been repaired, and as the sound of a cat's paw swatting the window pulled Mercy's attention away from her homework, she blinked and rubbed her eyes to be sure she wasn't seeing the figure of the cat in the window incorrectly due to eyestrain.

Getting up, she quickly opened the window, hoping that nobody had seen the feline as he'd made his way to her window. Not that stray cat's were uncommon - but mostly they were unwelcome at the dormitories for various and sundry reasons - mostly stemming from potential damage to the dorms themselves. Which she supposed were valid enough reasons. All the same - it didn't stop a lot of the girls of the all-girls school from feeding what strays did come around - thus, she was hopeful that everyone would think that her sudden guest was one of the same, and she was just being a kind soul and he'd be on his way shortly.

He had not been wrong about her being busy both with work - school and otherwise. After Phact's disappearance, she had ended up taking on extra part time work at Mathias' gym - working with his wife, Imara, in the gym's office trying to help the overworked woman with her various piles of paperwork. It had been a good insight into brier patch that was tax law.

Now in her sophomore year, Mercy was now even more keenly aware of what she wanted to do with her life, beyond being a senshi anyway. The requirements were a bit hefty, but if her father could do it - then so could she. Plus, she had Nick to back her up - so there was that support she could rely on.

Still, after opening the window she slid a bit to the side to allow the cat entry into the dorm room.

"You know," She said with a soft hint of amusement to her voice. "You could have called ahead - I'd of made sure I had a proper guest spread ready."

She inclined her head toward the paper piled desk, the rumpled sheets on the bed, and the loose t-shirt and comfortable pants she wore as she padded over to sit back down in her chair. "Would have cleaned up a bit too!"

"But, I digress," She added with a small smile. "It's been awhile, Arthur. How have you been?"

It had been entirely, far too long.

Oh, wow, that last sentence was a doozy and came out of left field - at least for Mercy at any rate. Her eyebrows shot up, as she leaned back a bit in her chair, head cocking slightly to the side as she tried to parse exactly what Arthur had said.

"I'm sorry," She said, leaning a bit more forward, shaking her head a bit. "I think I might have zoned out there at the end - did you just say a house... and a daughter?!"

How did that work even.... Did he mean like... a cat daughter? A talking cat daughter?! He was a feline, and she was sure he wasn't neutered and... the logistics of him producing offspring with another talking cat (or maybe not even a talking one?!?) was a set of weeds she wasn't quite sure she wanted to blaze a trail through at the moment.

"Hold on, I'm sorry - let's bring this back a few steps," She said, raising a hand. "We've both been really busy... I don't know if you're aware, but Delilah went missing... I've been looking for her but I haven't had any luck in the last few months. So I can understand completely not having time to check in with friends... God knows I've barely had enough time for my boyfriend..."

Oh wait, was Arthur aware of Nick? Were the other girls? Who had she told... Who hadn't she told... oh dear...

"I mean, one should generally have one's affairs in order when becoming a parent," Mercy agreed, still not one hundred percent sure if he was talking about a human child or a cat child, but from the sound of things he was talking about a human. "The internet is an amazing thing - and I'm glad you were able to find something that you could do to support your family."

That family being a girl of unknown age and a cat - but she supposed that could be a family...

The grumble was noticed and she frowned a bit. "Thumbs or no, if she's a child..." She shook her head and sighed. "I have no frame of reference - so I really can't judge her, or him, on that matter - but I am sorry that she left."

Arthur didn't deserve that - not if he worked as hard as she thought he would to ensure the girl had a decent place to stay...

As the conversation shifted to Delilah she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose slightly. Even this long, it took an effort of will to keep the panic, worry, and emotional upset at bay. The frustration of Delilah's disappearance had weighed heavily on the teen, and had exacerbated her underlying trauma. trauma her parents thought was the result of a horrible botched kidnapping/human trafficking operation, but was really the result of a young woman being forced into a front line combat role in a war that never seemed to end.

Still, will a low, shaky sigh, she managed. "I'm sure she's okay... Things have been rough for her since her parents passed away..." She said softly. "But she wasn't the same after that... I mean who could be?"

The question about a boyfriend had her ears and cheeks turning a light red as she pointedly cleared her throat and stalled for a moment as she tried to think of the best way to describe what had occurred.

"There is a boy that I've liked for awhile, he's a bit shy, but very sweet... We started going out after the plant attack at the Christmas event awhile back... He's very... understanding of my schedule, so that helps..."

Mercy smiled, moving from the desk back to the bed, making sure she didn't sit on Arthur as she flopped onto the bed. She reached out to run her fingers along his upper back, giving him some light pets. It'd been awhile since she'd seen him, and she fingered a few pets wouldn't be amiss.

"His name is Nick," She said, nodding her head at the cat. "He's aware that I'm a senshi. We were on a date one night when we encountered a Negaverse General that.... has it out for me and my court." She added with a small sigh. "Suffice it to say that I have very little choice but to escape to my home world with Nick in tow."

That had been an... interesting visit to her home world - but ironically it had been a huge boon for her and Nick's relationship. At least he understood what she was facing - and about the scars and some of her jumpiness now. She was still a little worried that knowledge would put him in danger but... She had to have faith he'd stay out of it.

"We ran into each other at the mall... literally - I mean," Mercy blushed remembering the incident. "Then I bumped into him again... literally - at a comic store while looking for a gift for my little brother. We talked for a bit, and he started teaching me about comics and gaming and stuff."

She nodded absently at the 3DS on the corner of the desk. "I've been playing a lot of handheld tactics games, trying to get a better feel for my sphere... I'd like to think it helps." She said with a small smile.

"But, uhm... Yeah - after awhile I figured it wouldn't hurt to make my intent known... We met at the botanical gardens on Christmas - when the weird hybrid plants came alive and attacked everyone? That's when we started dating officially..." Or at least that's what she'd taken their kiss then to mean at any rate.

"He's a really sweet guy - if a little shy," She said, as to what she liked about him. "But he's not afraid to stand up and fight if he see something he doesn't feel is right. And he's tried to protect me a few times not knowing that I was, well - a fighter in my own right." She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, he's also really cute - especially without his glasses - but that's just me being a little shallow." She gave Arthur a somewhat wry smirk.

"But, I think it's just... He makes me feel happy, and safe... and there's this sort of magnetic draw about him... It just feels - right?" Mercy said with a dreamy sigh. "It's... hard to explain really. But, when I'm with him, like... just close to him. I feel safe and relaxed and ready to take on anything."

Mercy continued to pet the cat in her lap, just enjoying the comfort of the soft fur beneath her fingers. She hadn't really dealt with a lot of other cats - at least not lately. There had been the incident when they had inducted Ginger into their group, when Benedict had conscripted the woman into the fight in front of them all, and they had all cringed at what that would mean for her.

It was a war. War was hell.

Mercy decided to not focus on that line of thought, but instead on Arthur's words.

"He's a good guy, that's enough for me," She said with a nod. "Even if I sound like some melodramatic woman from daytime television."

Fingers moved to scritch under his chin. Mercy was not as excited about his next question, but it was a valid one, and it's not like she could really dodge it.

"School's been school - I'm doing my best to maintain my grades, it means I have to patrol less," She said with a slightly frustrated sigh. "But, it doesn't do me much good to patrol if I'm going to be dealing with angry parents if my grades aren't up to par."

As far as patrols...

"Patrols are quiet enough - at least for now," She said with a small nod. "I wish we had better intel on the enemy and their movements, but we make do with what we've got."

"Don't be so down on yourself, without you, we'd be without reinforcements," Mercy said with a frown. "I have a bad feeling this is going to be a war of attrition though, first side to lose enough manpower loses."

Unless they could somehow get a hold of mercenaries - but she doubted that, that would be effective in the long run. Besides - better it be a shadow war, then a real one.

"We'll just have to keep boots on the ground until we win."