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Work. Dance practice. Training. Patrol. All of his tasks for the day had been completed on schedule with no issue. Now Julian was ready to unwind, and have a rare bit of fun to welcome the weekend. His usual bar was open, of course, and he was going to get his usual drink from his usual bartender, and zone out at the pool table for a good hour or two. The only thing that varied was where he chose to power down.

This time, it was an alley about a quarter mile away. He'd certainly chosen an interesting one. It looked like some guerrilla artists had come by to work on a mural and left behind some cans of paint.

It was only after the uniform lifted from his body that he noticed something... well. He hesitated to call anything in this town strange anymore. Emotions like "surprise" and "exasperation" and "confusion" were a waste of energy in Destiny City. Instead, he simply acknowledged it.

He acknowledged the cat, playing in paint.

Julian didn't know much about Mauvians. He'd worked with one in the Negaverse, briefly, and he'd generally seen them around. He knew they weren't really cats, and therefore didn't generally act like them. This cat's back was turned to him, though, and it was also somewhat dark in the alley, so it was hard to tell.

That meant he had to ask.

"Hey," he said, already resigned to the awkwardness. "You. Cat. Are you, uh... a regular cat, or one of those alien cats? Just wondering."

"Coco."

An alien cat, then. Got it.

"Nice to meet you, I suppose. I'm Julian, for the moment. In other moments, I'm a Knight." Frankly, he would take this strange little encounter over the absolute disaster that had unfolded in that battlefield a month ago. He still owed some people pizza for that, actually... but no one had come to him demanding he deliver on it, so it was on the backburner until someone did.

He peered closer at the Mauvian's handiwork, noting the shapes of trees forming in her canvas of asphalt. "Huh. Not bad, considering..." ...the paws. "You do this often?"

So much for the pool table.

"Not necessarily," Julian said with a shrug. "I wasn't out looking for a Mauvian, we just happened to cross paths. Maybe it's a fate thing, though..."

There was something he'd been meaning to get done.

It would mean having to skip one of his favorite items on his routine, something he regarded with a small sigh as he stuck his arm out stiffly to retrieve his weapon. His gardener's spade appeared once again, as did the rest of his Knightly regalia, all topped off with a large, striking hat that contrasted strangely with his deadpan expression.

This was all so he could retrieve his undisguised signet ring from a chain around his neck and hold it out in his hand for Coco to inspect.

"Might as well ask, anyway. Would you mind upgrading this? I'll pay you for your labor, naturally... or buy you something, whatever works."

That made Asphodel blink a bit. He'd had the impression Mauvians were just... naturally good at technology, like they were born with mechanical knowledge or something. But they needed to practice, too?

"Not to worry, I have a blueprint," he said, pulling the note he'd received from the Code out of subspace for Coco to see. It detailed a small chip that could be installed in the ring. "It'll let me use it to make holograms, things like that."

The blueprint was lowered to the ground for Coco to look at. His wisp unburied itself from his sleeve and hovered nearby, casting the slightest bit of helpful light over the papers.

"So, naturally, I have no clue how to read this," said Asphodel. "How long do you think you need to figure this out? We can head somewhere less out in the open if you need more time."

Something about the cat's enthusiasm rattled at a door in Asphodel's mind that would have led to memories, if it hadn't been permanently sealed shut. His life outside of the Negaverse had been yanked away from reach for good when Camelot purified him. So, instead, only tattered wisps of emotions passed through him.

"We could try a diner, I guess. Hide under my cloak, get a corner booth, and you work under the table. Do you like hashbrowns?" He gathered up his ring and papers, and started walking. "This one place nearby also has banana splits, if you're more of a sweets... person."

He couldn't decide whether it would have been more offensive to say person or cat, and still wasn't sure whether he had made the right choice.

This was a thoroughly ridiculous idea, going into a diner like this, and yet, there they went. It was a blessing no other auras showed up in his awareness during the trip there -- all the same, that didn't mean no one was noticing. Asphodel would have to change up his habits for a while after this, maybe stay powered down for a while. All these thoughts kept Coco's infectious cheer from changing the dour look on his face.

Twenty minutes later, they were at a corner booth in a sparsely-attended 24-hour diner as planned. More activity would have been better, honestly; then the cat could get lost in the crowd. They would have to make do.

"Alright. I'll do my best to keep you covered, and you do your best to keep quiet," he whispered as he sat down and released the little Mauvian to the floor beneath the table. Maybe we should have gone for a gas station bathroom instead, he thought. Too late now. "Can you read menus?" He handed one down to the floor along with the blueprints. "I'll get you whatever you like."

The Mauvian pawed at Asphodel the very second a server approached to take his order. This made him tense up a bit. Thankfully, the server assumed it was because his garb was so unusual -- asking him if he was on his way to a costume party, and reassuring him that people in strange costumes came to this diner pretty often. It was part of the charm of working there, they said.

As the small talk was made, he subtly dropped his signet ring onto the floor below.

Then, as the server left for the kitchen, the Knight made a small show out of answering his phone. "Yeah, I'll probably have my food in about ten minutes, then I can make my way out after I eat. If you can get that little project done within that timeframe, that would be great." A pointed glance was given to Coco under the table, hoping she understood.

Out of all the silly things Asphodel had done over the years -- both within and outside of the Negaverse -- this had already made the top of his list.