Welcome to Gaia! ::

Things were going well with Ekstrom, after a few meetings things were amicable and the younger knight seemed pleasant enough. Pushing for more information would take time, considering the bad experiences he had to work against due to her interactions with Senshi. So tonight as he roamed, he was curious about poking around with other knights. Keeping his medallion on him was a must if he wanted to keep up the lie of being a captain. Keeping his uniform free of the various medals he had earned helped as well. Even if order may have a different level of information and organization he wanted to keep as much of his own information muddled as possible.

Luck found him though, there was a lone knight nearby as he wandered past one of the dog parks. It wasn’t as near to the university as where he’d bumped into Ekstrom but it wasn’t far out enough that he might bump into some of the other agents he knew on patrol. Pulling out his notebook, he made a few notes as he moved closer. It was easy to make himself look a bit skittish or nervous; anything to help him seem like less of a threat to hopefully get a conversation out of this meeting instead of a fist to his face.

Being at third stage was something new for Aaru, and he kinda liked it. He could see how Shang and Maia were pretty confident at this stage and it had him wondering what else he could do at this stage. The original Oroboros was not around anymore but maybe he could start something new? That was something to ponder while he walked casually along the sidewalk, his new weapon hanging around the back of his neck. The two skulls bounced slightly while he took his steps, which reminded him that at some point he would have to talk to his ancestor about the history behind the new weapon form. One skull was bigger than the other and he was plenty disturbed enough to know that it had to belong to someone related to the crazy witch.

He paused mid step when the captain's signature hit him. Now, he could be aggressive but interactions with Staruo proved that maybe all the agents weren't…THAT bad. Granted what they did in the name of their so called goddess or whatever the ******** she is was pretty messed up, but there are people that are just dealing with the hand that they were dealt. Granted, he hasnt run into a certain purple people eater lately (thank god, it's been YEARS since hes seen that ********), so that was nice.

Aaru turned around slowly to face the captain, bringing his weapon down to swing it at his side. “Alright….I can feel you…Do I need to be nice or mean?” The agent would only get one chance before he either swung his skull at them or he relaxed somewhat. For their sake he was praying for the latter.

With the knight facing him, he was able to get a loose sketch finish of their appearance. Based on the color palette and symbols, he assumed Saturn was their planet but he needed a closer look and he would rather they be the one to approach.

Making himself look startled, he pulled his notebook up to hide the contents and looked at the knight. Taking a step back, to keep the distance, he knew there weren’t any other knights around to interrupt or pile on him.

“No need to fight, I really want to avoid trouble. I was trying to figure out this city’s layout because I keep getting lost.” Holding his hands up, one with his notebook and pen in it, he showed that he didn’t have his weapon out. It wasn’t as if he’d bring it out anyway, it would make it harder to believe he was a Captain if he did.

Now, Aaru wasn't stupid, but the Captain did seem rather…Skittish. Which was strange since he was plenty taller than him. Since it seemed like there was no threat, Aaru stopped the swinging of his weapon but kept his distance. He did not want to end up with a hand in his chest tonight, nor did he want to be drained. “Alright, be on your way I guess. Can't be nice if I catch you doing something stupid along the way though.” he wrapped his weapon back around his shoulders, preparing to turn around and be on his way. If the guy wasn't doing anything dumb, he didn't see the point in sticking around.

The guy was lucky Mu or Maia was out of commission right now otherwise it wouldn't be looking too good for him and there was no chance in hell he was going to get in between those two and their chosen target. That or he could run into Hali or Palm….He wasn't sure if they encountered agents before though.

Good, it seemed like they weren’t going to swing at him now so he relaxed a bit. “What are those anyway?” Pointing at their weapon with his pen. “Please tell me that they are fake or at least not from a fallen enemy.” He knew it couldn’t be, that wasn’t how those tinker toys knights had worked. But he wanted to start getting more information for a report together.

“Getting lost would be rather stupid I suppose but I assume you mean other activities. I have been trying to find a better area with less population but really this city is so different from back home.” Sighing a bit he opened his little notebook to look at the sketch he had so far. It wasn’t at an angle they could see it but he started to go through the list of what he might try getting out of them. A name and confirmation of planet were a must.

“I really have done well to avoid others, my general said senshi and knights came from outer space.” Which wasn’t a lie but also wasn’t something he felt the same way about. Natron had his tinfoil hat but Chal wasn’t as sure that order were aliens outside of those less-than-human ones.

When the captain asked what his weapons were, he was a bit hesitant at first but casually replied, “Two skulls attached by a chain. Don't think thats an actual weapon. Even if there was, hell if I know what to call it.” Bola apparently but he wasn't about to say that. Aaru chuckled when the captain asked about the skulls. “Nah.” He lifted one skull at a time, “Ancestor number one, Ancestor number two. They say nice to meet ya.” He jiggled them for more emphasis, resting his hands behind his head while the captain asked his weird questions.

“DC has that effect on people. It's almost comical.” Poor guy must be from some cornfed backwater town which he felt sorry for because it must be far superior than coming to DC of all places. When he said that he was told knights came from outer space, Aaru let out a hearty laugh. “Well s**t, do I look like an alien to you?” He snorted and bent over from all the laughing he was doing, “Whoever told you that is pretty s**t and needs to go touch grass for a bit instead of wearing that stupid tin hat. I was born and raised here. Not sure if that still makes me an alien but I guess I ******** take it.” Geez what were they telling these people?

There wasn’t a need to act, not at all, when the knight mentioned them being not only real but someone they knew. It didn’t sit well with him as they jiggled the skulls. There were weapons that were two balls attached by a chain so it was probably something like that but modified, though that train of thought was forgotten as he looked at the skulls a bit more.

The laugh did bring his thoughts back in order as he shook his head and laughed slightly. “No, not really, and I have seen one before. She was blue and while your attire might be purple, you look human.” But the valencians were something completely different, not like what Natron had told him of. “The hat he wore may have been tinfoil, but it is hard to remember.” Getting them laughing was a good step, and it did give him a bit more view of their uniform as they moved and adjusted their weapons.

“So if you are from here, then have you seen any so-called aliens yourself? Or are there odd things up wherever you go when you are out of the city?” Loosely implying space without outright saying it for now, he was curious not just about their planet but of interactions with others to try and build a better report of known acquaintances.

Ah so there really were aliens out there….Interesting to know and also not really a surprise because it was Destiny City, of course there are actual aliens now.

“Can't say I have seen any of the aliens you're talking about. I'll keep a lookout though since you’ve got me curious now.” He snorted at the small joke that he made about the tin foil hat. At that last question he tilted his head, “Look, I'm not sure what you mean by that last question. I travel a lot when I want to. So either spit out what you mean or ask your next question.” He was starting to grow a bit bored and while he will entertain a negaverser for a good period of time, if the conversation started to get stale, he would move on and go about his business.

“They do stand out, some more than others, it is quite fascinating to be honest. One of the ones I saw had a fox tail and ears even. At first, I thought they were just bits of their outfit until they moved on their own.” He’d seen a few so far himself but then again he was the one who made it a point to find out more.

Shifting and flipping through pages of his notebook, even if he wasn’t really looking for things as he contemplated how he wanted to delve into it all. “Well during the peak of Starfest, I had the rather unfortunate chance to get thrown out into open space. While that was unpleasant, it made me wonder what some of the places knights went to were like. What things might be part of the ecosystem of sorts in those places that were out of reach from here.” Motioning vaguely to the city around them, it wasn’t wholly a lie because he had been curious about it in one way or another. It was more that the reasoning for that curiosity wasn’t so well-intentioned.

“Understandably, places like that are outside of my vantage so I figured that hearing about things would be alright instead.” If it was so easy for agents to get there, he was certain it would have happened more often. There had to be an approach, something that would be useful to help get an inside look as it were.

This guy has a really poetic and drawn out way of speaking.

Aaru tilted his head to the side. If he was asking to go to his wonder he didn't understand why he just didn't come out with that in the first place. It was practically restored, he just had to get more furniture in there. The lab was still somewhat of a mess but he was slowly working on that just in case Desmonia and any other Aaru before her had left anything important behind. Other than that, with some TLC, he could say his wonder was looking pretty nice. That being said, instead of being an a*****e, he chuckled.

“Did you want to go to space? All you have to do is ask man. I don't really have the patience for Shakespeare talk. It's a real quick way for me to get bored and you don't want that to happen.” With that, he did get to be a somewhat moderate distance from the captain. He was still a bit weary, but it wasn't the stupid purple people eater (otherwise they would be trading blows right off the bat), so he felt like he was still good.

The pause as the knight thought had him stilling, especially as they moved closer. Still, there weren’t any signs of a threat, which was good so far. Sure he was taller but his strength as a general could only help so much when the baseline was near zero. Liam tried to get him to the gym but it wasn’t something he wanted to do so he worked with what he had like he was right now.

Blinking, he was a bit surprised at how forward they were. Not a fake surprise either at this point as he looked at them. Narrowing his eyes, he contemplated a few things. Pulling a hand up, he fiddled with the earring that dangled hidden behind the bangs that framed his face. He could keep Melpomene updated through this but that didn’t mean they could join him there if things went south. It was a risk and not one he had enough information of to make an educated guess.

Internally he groaned at the mention of boredom and the threat that seemed to go with it. Tucking his notebook away alongside the pen into the inner pocket of his coat, his eyes drifted over the skulls again. It had to be Saturn, considering the colors, symbols, and rather unpleasant weapon. At least there wouldn’t be a princess there, or a royal knight. There was only the one, at least that was known in the database and they weren’t from there.

“I do but, given the fact I am not a knight I was under the assumption I would be rejected at an attempt to go there.” Which made sense in his mind but there was only so much he could poke into without someone getting the wrong idea. What he wanted to know was his business and nobody else’s, that didn’t mean he was entertaining the idea of joining the barbaric side of order just to find out more information. At least he could be assured that they couldn’t force him to join, from what he knew so far.

Thinking again before he spoke, he knew he should keep it shorter to appease this knight and keep his cover. “Yes, I would like to go and see it but do not think that I intend to change my stance. What do you want in return for a visit there?”

“Nah, I can bring whomever I want to my wonder. As long as you're not trying to hurt me,” He leveled a serious look to the taller captain, “And you won't, then you should be fine.” As far as his stance goes, Aaru could care less about who stood for what. Don't ******** with the people he cared about and he was good. When asked what he wanted in return, Aaru gave the captain a weird look. “What do you mean by that? Like some sort of sex slave thing? Not interested. Don't really want anything in return for you visiting. I figured if you were curious, I might as well show off.”

But also, “I'll level with you. I don't really give two ******** about what side you want to be on so long as your not hurting me and mine, do what you want. You seem like an adult so that means you're capable of making your own decisions and living with whatever consequences come your way. Far be it for me to try and convince you to hop over, I don't give a ********.” He waved his hand, “Are you ready to go? Or did you change your mind?”

That waivers interesting, the fact that anyone could go if invited. It gave him more reassurance that his methods to avoid violence and seeming like a thread would allow for some behind the lines formation gathering. Holding his hands up again to show he wasn't going to pull anything dangerous, he nodded. “Of course not, I might be taller but I have no intention to start any fights.”

The weird look and comment that followed had him looking mortified. The recent two additions to his team has shown him more than enough of that public display of activity that he really rather not have witnessed and now hearing it again had him coughing and choking on air. “No! Not that, not in the slightest!” Waving his hands he knew they'd see his engagement ring but that might not mean anything when they had so casually brought up that proposition.

Composing himself after a moment, he moved closer as they waved their hand. “Yes I would like to go as long as I can be back within an hour or two. I want to avoid worrying those close to me much.” He hoped they'd understand that even though it wasn't his exact reasoning for the time limit. That medallion would only work for so long before his true signature would come back.

Aaru walked up to the taller agent, noting the engagement ring just about as much as he was sure the other noticed the gold wedding band on him. There was only one other person that he wanted who wasn't his husband and they were working on that. Since this captain wasn't Moon, they had nothing to worry about. “Yeah, trust me, you'll want to be back way before your two hours is up.” He reached up to place his hand on the captain's shoulder, reciting his oath in his head (partly because he found it weird to say aloud and he wanted to keep it a mystery on how he gets to and from his wonder. He still didn't trust the guy.). To the naked eye, it looked like they simply teleported, but they would find themselves in front of a giant iron gate with a gold plac to the left on a brick wall that said House Aaru on it.

Aaru removed his hand and looked over at the entrance to his wonder. He was quite proud of himself with all that he restored over the years. The latest thing was the restoration of the cobbled road. “Welp, welcome to Aaru.” He started walking then, figuring the captain would follow him. He pushed open the gate to reveal the expansive grass field that contained three restored gravestones and a fourth that remained unkept to the left. There was the mausoleum that contained the entrance to the catacombs to the right and in the center at the end of the long road was a huge gothic Victorian mansion that looked fully restored on the outside with the exception of a couple of windows.

Aaru looked at the captain over his shoulder, “Where do you want to go first?”.

Flinching slightly when they touched him, he wasn’t sure if that was a threat or just a general comment. Either way, it didn’t sit well with him but as he blinked and opened his eyes, they weren’t in the city anymore. Sucking in a breath, he looked around and pulled out a different notebook, this one blank and from his subspace. Pausing for a moment, he stopped before his sketching pencil met paper.

Watching as they moved forward and opened the gate, he sketched the scene before him with the name of this place at the top. For now it would be rough but he’d add more detailing before he sprayed the page with sealant as he did with all the other pages in his other notebooks. Now he was glad to have added a few blank ones to his subspace in the event he managed to make it to a wonder so he might try and keep them separated by planet. It helped this wonder started with an A so he could keep a table of contents on the first page he’d skipped.

Following behind as they moved forward, he was careful not to trip as he continued sketching on various pages. There was a lot to take in, more than he could fit in the time allotted by his medallion, so he needed to get what he could down and memorize whatever else he could. It was amazing though, seeing that it wasn’t ruined as he’d been told most of space was. It made a bit more sense why Ekstrom was so spritely when she spoke of her wonder.

The gravestones and mausoleum seemed most interesting but the mansion itself pulled at him. Stopping as they looked back at him, he pulled his excitement in this place down a bit so as not to show as much on his face. “Can we go there?” Pointing at the mansion even as his eyes scanned over the field and pretty much everything else he could see around him. “Also, Chal, I assume having my name might make conversing easier. Aaru would be yours I assume?”

Moving ahead a bit more, he was still a bit on edge but the curiosity he had over this all was eating away at it bit by bit.

Of course he wanted to see the damned house.

But then again Aaru couldn't blame him, hes done a lot of work on it over the past couple of years and he was strangely proud of that fact. It meant dealing with his ancestor, but it's not like he couldn't just hit the mute button for his selective hearing and tune her out. “Sure, follow me.” the trip to the house wasn't long, and they were at the front door before long.

“And just WHAT have you brought into my home?!”

Yep, there she goes. Aaru waved his hand at the ghostly lady with light blonde hair. “Shut up Des…Don't you have skulls to look at or something?”

“EXCUSE ME?! I'll have you know that the skulls I look at are fine quality thank you and they belonged to people with PROMISE!” The ghost walked over to the taller individual, sneering, “And YOU….What a pitiful little thing…Not enough meat on the bones for experiments but doesn't look good enough for anything more other than becoming a pillow hugger!” Desmona turned to look sharply at Aaru, “WHAT was the purpose of you bringing this thing here if we cannot experiment or use it for something?!”

Aaru snorted, “To show him the place Des ... .Either follow or shut up.” He looked to Chal, “Sorry about that. But yeah, my name is Aaru and if you can't tell, I'm from Saturn. That thing is Desmonia. Don't mind her, she's just bitter she cant do s**t anymore. Follow me.”

Well this was going rather swimmingly he thought, and the margin next to his sketches began to fill with small little mental measurements and directions. Then something spoke, loudly, and he had to fight the urge to draw his weapon to defend himself. Instead, he clenched his jaw and pressed back against the door they’d both walked through.

It was unsettling, to say the least, that as he stood there, he couldn’t reach out for his youma and Liam wasn’t acknowledging the sudden alert he’d shot off through his earring out of habit. Was it because the connection to chaos was blocked off if they weren’t invited or brought here? He’d have to keep that in mind as he mentally cursed at the risk he’d taken.

It wasn’t an alien that he could have accepted, but as Aaru waved the thing off and they came at him, he stiffened more in horror at the idea that this was a real-life ghost. The sound of being used for an experiment was even less appetizing than the fact that ghosts were real if this wasn’t a hallucination from the knight’s magic. Then the insult, because he was sure that’s what she was saying as she looked him over like he looked over his crystals. The sting about his weight did hit him, something he knew Liam had been trying to fix after he’d done a number to himself for years by trying to solve his problems with a bottle. But it only flashed across his face for a moment as he pulled his hands and notebook over his midsection to keep his sketch hidden as well.

Exhaling when they returned their attention to Aaru, he took a moment to take in the area but now sketching would be off limits for the moment he figured. This was much more than he’d expected or bargained for but it would make a nice report as long as nothing else shocked him. Hearing the name Des again had him thinking of his cat Desiree but when Aaru explained a bit more he was glad he’d not said anything yet.

“Are you… sure?” Not that he knew better than this knight apparently but he didn’t like new things like this popping up. Scooting around the woman to follow Aaru, he kept a decent amount of distance just in case. “Saturn… ah yes that makes sense.” Death and some other things from what he’d remembered but he didn’t know it meant actual spectres.

“She mentioned experiments, does that mean this was or is a lab?” It was hard to tell but at least if he kept asking questions and focusing on the one who was breathing it might be easier to not have to unpack the fact that something he’d thought surely couldn’t exist was now here and still inspecting him.

As Aaru started walking he turned to look at Chal over his shoulder, “Yeah, don't think it's something you wanna see though. I wasn't lying about these two here.” He jiggled the skulls he was carrying around his neck, then jerked his head over to Desmonia, “ She's the one that was the cause of that. “If you're feeling froggy though, we can go check it out. There’s a lab, a morgue, an alchemy lab and a medical wing. Two are above and two are below, so we can start with the alchemy lab and medical wing…Unless you wanna skip to the morbid s**t.”

“You will not let that THING into my lab! It's appalling enough that you decided to rearrange what I had!”

“Nah, it's appalling that you had all that s**t down there and didn't think to keep it sanitary. What kind of mad scientist are you if you can't keep your workspace clean Des?” Aaru shook his head at his ancestor and turned left down the long hallway. “The closed doors are bedrooms. Don't go in there.” He still doesn't know what to do with most of the bedrooms his ancestors stayed in so he kept them clean and repaired, but did not move or touch a single thing inside. One day he would have to in order to fully get the house renovated, but that was something for him to do in the future…Alone.

“I'll have you know you little miscreant, my lab was perfectly sanitary and then YOU came along and ruined it!” Des gave this Chal another look over, “If I had my way, YOU wouldn't BE here. Consider yourself lucky this Aaru is an idiot.” Des gave him a polite smile then sang a tune as she kept walking, “But when we get to the lab you can see my babies! Oh the wonders of soul imbuing!” She danced around Aaru, touching the skulls he had with a loving look in her eyes, “Hmmmmmn….Has my daughter and grandfather served you well so far Aaru?”

Aaru promptly ignored Desmonia’s rant, snorting, “I'm sure they will when I decide to use them Des. Now stop fondling them like their balls and move out of the way. I know you don't like it when I walk through you.” The ghost sneered but moved out of the way for Aaru to open the door. “This is the alchemy lab. Try not to touch everything I don't know what’s dangerous and what's safe.”

Though most of him would agree with that statement, at not wanting to see what horrors might be here, the curiosity and desire to have a fleshed out report was winning out. He’d keep most of it out of his official report as he always did, keeping the more detailed notes to himself in volume upon volume hidden in his home. His eyes followed the movement, staring at the skulls again as he swallowed before looking back over at the shade. “Alchemy sounds interesting, more in line with things I like.” Even if his work with crystals and resonance weren’t exactly the same.

Skirting around Desmonia as she again called him a thing, he couldn’t help but see how they bickered like an old couple on one of the shows Liam watched. Schooling his face again as Aaru gave him instructions, he nodded and kept enough to not get left behind.

Stiffening up as Des decided to direct her attention to him, he didn’t like the idea that she was more perceptive than the other. There would be no way to keep up with his notes on paper so he’d have to go with another method to remember things. Putting it to music, or at least a composition, for Saturn… an elegy would work. Sliding his notebook into his coat, he kept his hand tapping at his thigh in time with the decided-upon meter so he could weave what he saw and heard into the composition he was building in his head. It was something he could do in most situations and for now, it would be the easiest to hide.

Soul imbuing? That sounded unpleasant and as he stepped into the lab behind Aaru, he found his question freezing for a moment as he looked over all the shelves and alchemy equipment. It was pristine and looked as if it had never really been destroyed. It wasn’t something he expected but then again most things here were outside of what he’d expected.

“What is all this? And… soul imbuing?” Looking mainly at Aaru but then slightly over at Des. “By dangerous do you mean toxic? Or are things volatile and might explode?” It could go either way but the questioning on substances was directed towards Des at this point. “I will refrain from touching things, I am a guest and have no intention of causing trouble with how hospitable you are being.”

Oh lord he asked the magical question…

Aaru carefully sat in one of the chairs, waiting for Des to start her spew about souls, reincarnation, death, and Princess Saturn herself.

Desmonia suddenly turned her full attention to Chal as if he were now her best friend instead of an invader, “Oh! You want to know about my research?!” She clapped her hands together, dancing and twirling around the lab, “Well, unlike a certain non-believer, the house of Aaru was founded on the belief that you could harness power from using the soul. Our princess was….” she looked at Chal with narrowed eyes as if she were deciding something, “In a state during my time here. Our line believed that we could resolve this state by imbuing her soul into something to preserve her, like a crystal with a pocket dimension. Much like what you call subspace.” Des turned to look at Chal with a smile too big for her face.

“And you know what we found?”

That smile dropped instantly, “NOTHING! Not a DAMNED thing….About humans at least. However, there is a way to take some essence from a living thing and bond it to a crystal. The trick is, you can only use it for one thing. So if you take a flower for instance, and you want to use it's poisonous properties to make a custom poison of your own, then it can be done. But now you need to make a new crystal if you want to use that same flower for its healing properties instead.”

The ghost continued her pacing, sighing dramatically, “Anything! But a human soul…” Her face broke then and she suddenly looked…Worn, broken, and regretful. “And I figured that out the hard way.” She looked away from chal then ran her hand over the smaller skull on Aaru’s weapon. “Did you know…Or rather DO you know where these skulls come from?” She gave Chal a dark and somber smile, resting her arms on Aaru’s head while resting her own on them.

She would wait for an answer.

The jarring change of their tune in regards to him did have him lean his weight back on his heels, not quite taking a step back, but preparing to if he had to. That didn’t stop him from listening as they went off on what reminded him of one of his own lectures on music theory or resonance and how it could effect the starseeds of late blooming senshi.

The bickering and looks the spectre gave to Aaru were intriguing, to say the least, and he found himself watching as the scene played out, even if some of the subject matter was far out of his area of expertise. Sitting like Aaru was out of the question; he didn’t want to risk not being able to get out of the way if needed. While he could be thrown out for causing trouble, he had half a mind to understand that that perhaps did not go both ways.

Again, Des’s disposition changed jarringly as he hung on her words and tried to commit them to memory. The mention of doing things to human souls rubbed him the wrong way, even though he had avoided taking starseeds due to the finality he knew could come from crushing one. Only twice had he acted and taken a starseed, once in self-defense and the other while protecting his fiancé. But both times, he kept them locked away, neither returning to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth nor getting destroyed and ejected from that pattern completely. Just held in limbo because to act further slipped into a thought process he did not want to return to. There were worse things than death, he’d seen it time and time again, but when the subject changed from human souls to objects, it stirred him from that short stutter his mind had gone through when jerking to past events.

His face had fallen, something slipping from behind the facade he held up as he’d thought about it for only a moment, but then he nodded and focused with renewed interest. It reminded him almost of the crystals he had seen with Melpomene, but with them having a use outside of mirror space or their realm.

His expression darkened again as he understood the line that had been crossed, and a lead weight settled into his stomach. Even though the ghastly woman was waiting for a response, he couldn’t bring himself to answer as he looked over at the pair and the skulls. It was wrong, wrong in a way he knew not to look into. It had him paling as he swallowed and wrung his hands together at waist level. While he wanted nothing more than to bring up why they thought they had the right to meddle with a soul, he also knew he was a guest and also an enemy when it boiled down to it.

“No, given this was our first occasion meeting, I have no knowledge of the source of those.” While it was true, after the rant they had gone on, he had an idea which didn’t sit well with him at all. It disgusted him, confirming that he was on the proper side of things as he had always known. Savage and cruel, uncaring for the weight of a human soul and what it means and is, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything of that in this situation, in this lab where atrocities must have occurred to willing or unwilling participants.

Now he did take that slight step back before stilling again and looking for Aaru to say something much more reasonable. Something that might hint that this woman was a one-of-a-kind monster and not an example of the group of past knights.

He knew when someone was uncomfortable, because he wore that same look on his face when Des had told him about the experiments the first time. So, instead of letting her give the answer, something that still disgusted him even now, Aaru sat up out of the chair. “Aaaaand I think thats enough, Des. Not everyone is proud to be a monster.”

“M-Monster?! Me?!” The ghost woman looked shocked and hurt, “I was only trying to complete the work my forefathers had started, it's not my fault that you find it…Distasteful.” She waved her hand dismissively, “Whatever. I suppose we could move onto better things, yes?”

Aaru had decided that was enough. The poor guy probably thought the experimentations continued, which no, he would not be continuing anything of the sort. It's bad enough his weapon was created from the bones of his deceased ancestors… Walking to the captain, Aaru shook his head, “Here…I think it's time to go. Dessie is a lot for someone visiting for the first time. I can take you back now.”