While Joy was growing increasingly fond of Odainsaker - namely through the medium of growing increasingly fond of Neona - she had just about had her fill of anything that might push her into a role that resembled anything like a teacher or - god forbid - a mentor.

This had grown into such a disgust since being saddled with Maus that she was now shying away from even ideas as benign as sparring practice, or something else that resembled any kind of structured pursuit of improvement, even if it put her on an equal footing. When, therefore, Odainsaker had made it sound like she might want to familiarize herself with the changes in her weapon in a safe environment, Joy had been more than happy to shrug it off and move past it, until it occurred to her that she might have the satisfaction of doing someone a kindness without inconveniencing herself, and also satisfy another desire of hers: to keep Maus busy with something productive, so that he'd be too tired to keep himself busy with self-destruction.

Which is how it ended up, on this particular night, that Maus had found himself scheduled, with only a cursory gesture towards his own consent on the topic, to meet with Odain in an empty field on the outskirts of the City, where he strolled up with a cigarette in one hand and his weapon swinging idly from the other. No Chaos signatures about; nothing to derail him or Odainsaker, whom he expected to see at any moment and whose name he only vaguely recognized from a drunk toast at Tempesti's lantern festival, as remembered through his own haze of drink. Apparently something interesting had happened to Odainsaker's weapon, which he was to dutifully ask questions about, something he only half-planned on doing.

Not that he'd minded, really, being given something to do, although he'd made a show of being disgruntled about it because he suspected it made Joy happy to impose on him and he was willing to indulge her. It was always a pleasure to meet someone new, and always a pleasure to be able to get a little movement in, although the gifted gym membership was doing something to make this urge a little less desperate than it had been. He was early - early on purpose, to get a smoke in - and hauled himself up onto a low concrete wall to await the arrival of Odainsaker.