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Faustite had given him a task.

It was important to Borax that he excelled at these tasks for two blocks of reasons. One, because of course, he would excel. To do anything else sounded unlikely enough that it might have laughed. Two, because he had been assigned this task by his demonic superior. Impressing him? Surely that would give him more power and responsibility that had been implied just a bit faster.

So instead of going to an area where people gathered who were of less concern, tonight, he patrolled in an area a bit more populated. He figured it was more likely he would come across an aura that he could pursue and explore the way Faustite had wanted him to.

If knight, get their weapon. Their alignment. If they had any magic. For senshi, get their magic. Their magical duration. For both, name, appearance, mannerisms, anything that could be taken advantage of.

Borax tracked it all in his head as he scoured the streets, ball of energy in one hand. He was testing his skill by simply idly drawing bits from people he passed, letting his hand brush over a back, an arm, a neck as he walked. Borax knew none of the White Moon seemed particularly fond of their cattle farming the humans, so it seemed the easiest way to draw one out if he didn't feel one of them first.

It dovetailed neatly into the other assignment Faustite had given all of them, anyway.

It worked.

Perhaps it had worked partially because he had started moving in their direction, but it had worked nevertheless. And that was enough for him, in any case; an easier find was a quicker mission fulfilled than a harder one. As a bonus, as he came up to the white-clad senshi, he was holding a decently sized ball of energy that would definitely help with his doubled quota.

Two birds, one stone, etc.

This one caught his interest immediately. There was no real avoiding it: this person looked like a fish. Their ears were fins. Their skin was not a shade he'd see on anyone human unless they were painted in costume. Their fingers -- were they webbed? Was that what he was seeing on a quick glance? There were the more basic factors he was trying to take in, too, such as their height, but their appearance was a distraction on its own and was likely to be the most significant item of interest.

"Specifically? Perhaps. Perhaps not." Borax was not the type to show his hand, and he definitely wasn't about to in front of someone who was supposed to be his "enemy." He understood what he was asking for, though. If they were talking and he was to gather his information this way, he would likely be expected to offer his own.

Perhaps it was fortunate a lieutenant was hardly as interesting as what looked to be an actual alien. Even if he was expected to exchange information, what he was bound to give was much less likely to be interesting.

"Are you?"

He tossed the ball of energy he held from one hand to the other, curious to see if this senshi's concern was moreso chatting with him or what he was holding. Faustite said one of the things he should try to note was their motivations or what he could gather of their personality. If they didn't do much about the energy ball, they either didn't care or didn't know what it was. Not concerned or inexperienced.

Either would be important.

It was fascinating that this apparent fish person ranked as the first senshi he interacted with who did not care about the energy he held. He thought about it, for a moment, before filing the disinterest away with the ball of energy itself, tucking it away into subspace. There was entertainment of a different sort in front of him, information of something perhaps so bizarre the Negaverse didn't have terribly much on it, yet.

That was what he had been assigned to find, after all.

"I suppose you've found me instead," Borax's brow quirked ever-so-slightly, his lips lifting in a smirk that could have perhaps been seen as suave, perhaps been seen as flirtatious, perhaps have been seen as simply smarmy. All of those masks seemed to be one he was comfortable wearing, and if he was mining who this fish person was, perhaps it was best to figure out which one they assumed. "Thinks that makes things a bit more interesting, hm?"

This fish person wasn't going straight for fighting or even defensiveness, which changed his tactics. If he needed to figure out things from this senshi like their magic, it may be easier to simply ask directly. The lack of hostility also immediately piqued his curiosity: could there be something else here?

"Didn't know you White Moon types had your own aliens. I assume you're amphibious?"

Free agent. Someone not explicitly aligned with the faction they were part of outside of their name. Someone who quite nearly rocketed to the top of his list in interests, not necessarily for their magic like the Trex but for something else entirely. If this amphibious fishperson was not married to sides, no doubt they'd be easier to work with for other scenarios. In theory. Being a free agent could have also meant they never wanted to work with another, either never or never again.

"Good to know. You don't really have anyone telling that you have to do anything over there, so it could make sense to be unaligned."

Perhaps enviable, but Borax knew where the power was. It laid with the weaponry. It laid with the youma. It laid with the ability to remove starseeds without the blink of an eye, ending lives before had even gotten themselves started. This fishperson would approach it the way they wanted to, and Borax would use it to figure out.

"No, you don't all bite," though how could he know? This was the first time he was speaking face-to-face with an alien of any sort at all. Could have been that they all bit, could have been that this firstperson was speaking only for their own ... species?, could have been that they were only really speaking for themselves. "But I have only heard of off-world in relation to those, mm," he snorted, "the aliens pathed in pastel. The Velencians."

Perhaps he could get what he needed out of dropping some breadcrumbs into the conversation. Perhaps he would be able to carry a particularly interesting case back to the boss's boss.

Mercenary interests -- a fascinating comment with a fascinating thought behind it. Were they a killer-for-hire back on whatever probably qualified as their homeworld? Were they a free agent because it was a convenient way to earn money? Were they using that talent in that capacity currently, with either the side in white or their side?

Something to follow up on, no doubt, and perhaps his interest in doing so was obvious by the way he looked them over as they asked the next question in turn.

"I will offer a name for a name -- an equal exchange, I think." Borax was fine telling about himself in that way. He didn't think it gave away anything important, and he was unbothered by the concept of sharing that sort of information if it got him what he needed from them, ultimately. If this fishperson were to be a contact, information like a name would help. Perhaps magic, too, if just to know what to watch out for to find where this person was hiding out.

They were all things he could add to a properly fleshed-out entry, one that Faustite would definitely be interested in. And if he was definitely interested, that got him one step closer to the title he sought.

"I'll go first as a show of good faith: Lieutenant Borax. Yourself?"

The teeth were taken down as a note of curiosity, no doubt more that signified the fact that this fishperson was very much just that. Not human. A fish. By the fact they walked land made it clear that their species must have been amphibious, but he wondered what else that physique allowed. It was a curiosity, in any case, one that had Borax observing this Roka closer not because they were a threat but because he was trying to figure out what exactly they were.

They were both all smiles, it seemed, the expression on his face remaining as such as they spoke of everything else. Business -- it was interesting, it seemed this one was either a trap intended to catch him doing s**t he wasn't supposed to according to the White Moon, or this fishperson legitimately wanted to understand the military-suited soldiers running around the city.

There was one easy way to try to fish out if this fishperson would be a good informant, though.

"For me? Assignments from the upchains. I'm here to collect energy and send data I find to my superior."

And then, hopefully, the gains of favor because of it.

"Yourself, if I may also be so bold?" And Borax waited for Roka to rise to the occasion and move to his throat.

To Borax's surprise, there was no movement for his throat that came, a very different feeling than what had been happening to him with prior confrontations. This Roka seemed quite uninterested in getting into a fight with him and more interested in talking, which made them an interesting prospect indeed. He was already thinking of a way to list them in the database -- potential ally, perhaps?

"This night?" Borax's brows rose in mild curiosity. "Do you take orders other nights?" It seemed mercenary interests might have carried through to whatever this fishperson was doing here, and it was something that caught his attention, too. Could this Roka perhaps be convinced to intentionally interact with their side to the Negaverse's favour?

Were they already doing so?

Roka confirmed verbally they had no interest in disrupting him, and in a test of that, Borax withdrew the ball of energy once more and attempted to reach out to a civilian nearby. It was difficult but worth the practice, and worth seeing if Roka decided that it actually did offend them.

Borax doubted it, considering the conversation to that point, but it was always worth confirming and reaffirming. And if Roka left him alone, well, two birds with one stone.

"What is your magic, if I may ask? Senshi are fascinating to me, really."

Services for a price.

Borax could understand that. He dealt in contracts, though not quite like Syrus; he worked in finance and getting people to sign their names in triplicate for money to be exchanged and managed. Perhaps he could figure out an arrangement that would be favorable for this one, which would ultimately be favorable for him. Getting a literal alien on their side may be beneficial for his own status and for the Negaverse considering their goals.

Of course, if they were a mercenary, on their side might have been a hard-to-establish thing. Many of those types tended to prioritize themselves first. Borax could also understand that, admittedly. While he was on a team, how much he specifically cared for them was questionable.

Alas.

"Mm, some of your ... won't say allies, but fellows give it quite freely. I have learned of several magics and spheres." Borax pulled at the energy a bit harder, ignoring the sweat that formed on his brow as he finally successfully pulled something from the nearby civilian. Progress. "Of course, if your price is a bit higher than that, I don't mind, either. I always understand a neutral exchange."

His gaze shifted from the civilian he was pulling from to Roka themself.

"Do you have something you'd like in exchange?"