Lyla gives a grateful nod, focusing on other matters in return.

"Well the space can sometimes surprise us all, even in a positive sense. But that is quite the rare occasion. But I think sooner than that you've already tried your method," she notes matter of factly. "What part of Vegas? The warmth? The constant buzzing life? the opportunities for everything? I'm not certain that I miss Vegas per se, because I brought everything that mattered there with me. But the city and the desert around it did have a charm of its own."

She sighs a little.

"And really, its a good memory, especially after my exaltation when things began to unwrap and reveal themselves. Oh boy, I was so confused at everything," she chuckles.

"The people, mostly.  As vile and horrible as some of Vegas could be, there's something to be said for the vitality of the place.  The sheer audacity of humans, to settle in that place, make it what they did!" He smiles a bit at the thought, "There is also that, of course.  Watching a new Exalt see all the sorcerous underpinnings of the city unfold in front of them like a flower was a wonderful thing.  Though I wish I'd have been able to visit your bar beforehand to, hm, help take care of business.  In the past I wasn't as involved in human matters as I should have been.  Maybe that was my great failing."

Lyla grins intinctively.

"Help with business? Sure the management was shitty but so was the whole place. You sly fox just wanted to sample the goods before others...which you kinda did anyway."

She blushes and masks her grin to a laughter.

"Sorry! My bad. But really the place was a mess and doubt anyone could have made it better. The problem people would've just moved on...also now I have this strangest image of you as a pimp."

A long sip, before she decided to dig into the rice, not like the food would get cold in this heat.

"Maybe so, you cut to the heart of things,"  His smile is an honest one- it comes from the eyes first.  "But I never was a hat man, and feathers tend to burn around me."

He laughs and takes a bite of his food.  Lyla, it's very heavily spiced but not spicy; a rich melange of flavor that's often missing in everyday food.  Most of the best spices didn't make it on to the ship, though she'd heard some of the Indian community were making great forays into culturing seeds they'd brought.  Still, cinnamon in particular is quite missed.  Trees don't tend to grow well on the ship.

"You say that's not a big deal but I think it's where it all went wrong.  We stepped back and let humanity handle itself while pining for the old days instead of stepping in and integrating ourselves properly.  The average human didn't understand the threat, we did, and we just ... let it happen.  The rot started with the immortals, and not enough of us recognize that."

Ah, the taste of something with some actual real taste. She spends a small moment appreciating it, before continuing the discussion.

"Perhaps its true. Hard to say without actually personally witnessing it, and I'd rather not put the blame on things I don't know enough about. Not that I disagree with you. There was a chance to prepare and equip for what was happening..." she takes a sip. "But there was no guarantee that humans would've ever understood the threat or believed things without making stuff even more complicated. As people tend to do."

"And here we are, all in the same boat now..."

"You're thinking too short-term.  We're immortal, we could've thought long term.  Instead we were very, very happy to let humans be humans.  Maybe World War 2 scared the shit out of too many of us at once." He raises his glass in a toast, "To the same boat.  May we all have a turn at the bailing bucket."

She raises her glass in return.

To all the could've, should've, would'ves that we will continue to lament,"she laughs and clinks her glass with his. "No wonder we get along so well, you lament the short comings of the immortal kind, while  I lament the short comings that I have as a Solar."

Her tone of voice is light, heavily jokish and far from serious. The undertone is that despite it all she still whole heartedly means it.

"Lamenting aside, my previous mission went better than I thought. Even with all the roadblocks that I encountered. It was not as a neat performance as Pyongyang but there then again I only needed to look after myself...Oh, thank you by the way, for the help. The timing was perfect."

"Your only shortcoming as a Solar is that you don't have a bigger presence.  In the old days even the Night castes were big in their own way,"  He muses, "Like the assassins of old, known for the terror that they could strike in a man's heart just by hearing their name."

He takes a long sip.

"I'm glad I could be a help!  Just getting to where you were at was an adventure in itself.  I had to sprint through the Grand Trunk at some point, outside of the train.  So, what exactly happened?  How successful is successful in this case?  I have to say I was really worried about you when the young Antony was telling me about how the halls themselves seemed rigged to kill you ahead of time."

"Yes, I know. But I got my own traumas and burden from being famous. I don't want to jeopardize everything. I -know- that further publicity would do good especially within the Living, but...that'd mean taking a higher ranking in the list of the Dead, and I kinda don't like that thought," she notes in a semi sing-songy voice typical of her when it came to this discussion, as this was not their first time rummaging through this subject.

She doesn't cling on to it too harshly. He means well, she understands, and she'd like to take a step into the limelight every now and then...she was just afraid for the others if she were to do so.

"Glad to offer your dull life some excitement," she teases, giving his shoulder a playful prod. "Successful as in I caught the culprit, before she managed to put through further attacks. I think. And yes, it was very much like Fate itself was working against me. I will indulge you, but I still need to hear you promise me one more time, that you will stay silent on the matter."

"It's brought up that much besides me, huh?  I won't bother you again about it, my apologies."  He says with a raised eyebrow.  "Well, absolutely.  I won't say a word, on my honor."  He holds his hand up, thumb stretched out far, "If I break the vow - May my pipe break; may I always walk in the shade; may I drown in a spring rain."

"Nah, its not brought up that much. No need to apologize. I just passively remind myself about every now and then, you know...hanging with my brother and Daniel does that. Oh well, maybe some day," she waves a dismissive hand."Alrighty then."

She braces herself by taking a sip and relaxing in her chair, halting the dinner for a moment.

"Michael, ah Core I mean, sent me out to look into a bunch of anomalies that somehow distorted time and place. Thats how I ended into the fire, thats how I ended up talking to Shun Xiao about the explosion, and looking into some sabotage in Interceptors and talking with Kumiho. I was trying to find the reason behind it. Bit by bit it turned out that like Marc Anthony spoke that it was a girl named Hales. More specifically it was the Endings... Endings gone awry because the previous, Iapetus, had disappeared. Fought her in the end thats why I ended up in the Sanctuary. Thats it by mainpoint."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:57, Thu 10 Oct 2019.

"Wait, so, the last Endings died and the new one is nuts?" He's appalled, and for damn good reason, "And she can adjust time?  Question for you, why's she left alive?  If she can alter time and space and she's fundamentally against us doesn't that make her way too dangerous to keep around?"

He thinks for a moment.

"Wait, if she can screw around with time, how'd she even get caught?  By Sand and Spice, Lyla, you are living a really interesting life right now."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:37, Sat 19 Oct 2019.

"Blah, I think its not really if its about her altering time and space itself, but rather taking a some sort of spin on the Loom and fate. Then again what do I know, I'm not a Sidereal," she chuckles. "It was also brought up that she had help from outside, most likely. And keeping her alive means that we at least know where she and her exaltation are currently...at least until they manage to choose someone who could be the next possible target for it."

She takes a longish sip, emptying her glass.

"Believe me, I have my fair share of questions and meetings in which to ask them regarding the whole incident... It doesn't feel like I solved so to say anything at all. I was never expecting to be the one to solve these reasons behind it all. Not my thing really. But I'm curious still."

"Don't worry though. I can protect you from a violent teenage girl," she jests in order to lighten the mood.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Mon 21 Oct 2019.

"Will you?  How much will it costs?"  He asks, seizing on the opportunity, "I would gladly have you escorting me to, say, certain parties, or protecting me from all sorts of people who want my head." His fiery eyes twinkle, "There might be a lot more I'm afraid of than a murderous sidereal.  We should discuss terms, just in case."

She leans forward, propping herself up on one elbow against the table. For a short moment she seems to measure him, before letting her head be tilted to one side.

"Cost? Money won't do, unfortunately. I prefer something more personal. Like a lot of wine Or favors, you know just to cut down the number of them that I owe to you. But yes, we should discuss terms, just in case, so that I won't be utterly caught off guard when you declare that I need to escort you in a ball wearing little to nothing as to distract those who want to lop your head off, which would be quite rude. I like you with your head on," she pouts jokishly.

"Ah, and we also need to devise an evac plan. I can help to smuggle you out of Last Refuge to Enterprise, if things get heated...in an unpleasant way.. here.... Unless it was 5DD who you pissed off...In which case I'd be needing to resort to another contingency plan."

After dunking down the whole glass of wine, it was now slowly sinking in raising a blush to her pale cheeks. She slightly evades his eyes, as she feels they can read her all to well.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Wed 23 Oct 2019.

He's playing with her, yes; their relationship has definitely moved back to the more 'friendly' end of the spectrum but she knows he's always been intensely attracted to her.  How could he not?  An essence-being of great passion, an eternal flame; it would only be quenched if she forever cut him from her life.

"You know, I'll admit, I quite forgot the exact number of favors you owe me.  Maybe four, at this point?  But I'm all for repaying you in personal ways outside of money."  He chuckles, "I won't be so gauche as to ask you to attend the ball in skimpy clothing!"

He listens to the next part.

"You know, there's another ship I know of, the Marnier, that I hear is converting to a garden ship.  Perhaps we could evacuate there."

He was so much better at this game still, that she always needed to take that small break to actually read how much of a sly fox he was being this time. Luckily with time, she'd picked up some social skills herself as well not being that much of a potato as she had been. But that little was not so much in the end.

Lylas smile turns to a smallish grin.

"Ah, true, you don't need to ask. Just state it as a matter of fact, and I'd believe you because I really have no reason to believe otherwise. At least I wouldn't be hot. Then again wearing a fireproof suit could be better, then you'd be the only one to know whats beneath it, and that's more like you," she notes quite cheekily, knowing quite well how impeccable his taste is. "That being said, I might literally need you to dress me for THE ball. Way out of my league."

She lays her other hand on his. Here she went again, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. It was hard to help herself.

"A garden ship? How fairytale like. It'd be like being somewhere far away but still nearby... Could always sneak back to the Last Refuge in the shadows to pilfer if we required something. I couldn't just disappear and leave Kendall to his own devices...Only the Sun knows what might happen then. At least he can't exalt any further..."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Thu 24 Oct 2019.

"I think your brother,"  Sayeed's voice is somewhat humorously disapproving, "Doesn't quite need you to watch his back until he's accrued just a few more enemies.  Do you know there's already been three threats on his life?  All dealt with, of course.  He's not always an easy man to work with."

He lays a hand over hers, clasping it between palms as warm as a brilliant summer day.

"If you need my help dressing, I'll be certainly happy to do so.  I know a lovely little boutique a few blocks from here, specializes in flame-retardant higher-end materials.  I'd be all too happy to accompany you there and pay for it.  My treat."

There is a shade of anger on Lyla's face upon the mentioning of threats to his brothers life, but it quickly passes as she heaves a deep sigh, finding respite in his warm palms.

"That's three too many for my taste, but three that couldn't be avoided. I guess he can then? You know, in my minds eye he is still that score A student who spends his days nose glued to a book, fighting rather with words than his fists. But hey times change...though he is still 5 minutes younger than me so its like a big sisters duty to worry. Maybe I should assign an agent after him, just for fun," Lyla retorts with a chuckle.

She regards her empty wineglass for a moment, processing what he said. Refusing his offer would be rude, even though she didn't really lack in funds herself either. So instead she blushes further up her ears.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. You don't need to really...but I'm glad to say when someone compliments it that it was all thanks to you... Oh, I assume you'll be attending the ball as well. Will anyone accompany you?"

"My dearest fox, I assure you, that is par for the course.  I get that many on a weekly basis.  Your brother is in fact fortunate so far,"  He smirks, "Wait, wait a minute- you mean you haven't already assigned him an agent?  I figured you would've filled his office with your agents."

He takes the moment to refill her wine glass, which empties his bottle.

"I don't need to pay, I know, but I do like spoiling you.  You know how to be spoiled.  And yes, I'm required to attend; would you mind being my partner for the soiree?"

"I'm not really sure I like the idea of you having so many death threats made weekly. I might have to really do something about it. Send some agents so they can inform me when I need to come beat somebody to pulp," she frowns momentarily, but quickly laughs. "I kinda wanted to do that to Kendall, but I value his privacy...at least somewhat. I do keep tabs on him."

Lyla tries to pull off an innocent look but utterly fails in it, when her grin pushes through.

"If you had the choice of not attending, would you rather? Ah, yes, I'd love to be your partner in crime!" She responds without a moment of doubt, which actually quickly sets in. "I don't think my invitation included a plus one for that matter anyway...And if you are not included, I can only think this one other person who'd probably be tolerated to a certain degree, but I doubt he'd come..." her voice fades to a mumble, which she just shrugs off.

Or at least she tries to. She'd come to a point where she'd have to talk about 5DD and she had no idea what to say about it. She hardly knew herself what was going on. Sure, she had messaged with him during her stay in the Sanctuary, but she hadn't yet even mentioned the invitation she got to him.

She leans her cheek to her propped up palm, and sighs deeply, as if suddenly being put to a confession booth.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:58, Sat 02 Nov 2019.

"There are some crazy people we rescued," He says to Lyla, "There are a lot of people who got mentally broken by the Exodus, and they lash out whenever they can on whatever public figure they can.  Honestly, they don't know how to function anymore.  I've heard some say that they don't even really qualify as human."

He laughs at her question, though- the sober reality broken by a moment's quick joke.  "If I had the choice, no, goodness!  How else will I show my superiority to my extended family than having you on my arm?"  He taps the table twice, "Your invitation does include a plus one, and I got an invitation as well.  If you'd rather use your invitation on someone else... then by all means, go right ahead."

He's a man of the world.  He knows that she's certainly- well, if not moved on from him, then definitely trekked down the road a fair bit.  He's being a good sport about it, it seems.  But Lyla might also remember that Five Days Darkness is, in fact, the core of the Enterprise and considers himself exiled from the Last Refuge.

"And young Marc has one as well, but that's really only if he survives the trial."

Lyla is somewhat surprised and somewhat disappointed that he takes it so well. Hell, he takes it better than she does to some extent. For a moment she wants to talk about MA and his case, but she knows better than that to jump from subject to another.

"Ha, oh like a trophy. or an exotic animal to showcase.. think I'm tame enough?" she grins a bit, her blush spreading further causing her to press on. "Can I be honest with you on what is going on in my mind? I don't know why I'm circling around so much in an attempt to be so polite and courteous, and it feels so wrong. I should save that for some official occasion and not this..."

She sips her glass of wine.

"Bah, it's been too long since we spent time like this. I feel like a teenager..." she mumbles to herself with an amused roll of her eyes.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Wed 06 Nov 2019.

"Neither- like an empress, perhaps-"  He trails off.  "Of course.  Always.  We thrive on honesty; you will never find a dishonest Ifrit, and we prize that in others.  Go ahead.  What's on your mind?" He asks her, "Perhaps you'd be more comfortable discussing it somewhere a little more relaxing?  The pool is very warm.  I'm sure you'd find it quite soothing."

Honest, yes, but not always transparent.  No doubt Sayeed would very much enjoy seeing her in the water...

"I see."

She gives a small amused shake of her head with a chuckle to his eloquence, not directing it at the words he said or the suggestion. As a response instead, she gets up taking her wine glass with and walks to side of the pool. While there she absentmindedly dips her toe in it as if testing how hot it actually was.

A moment is spent in silence from her part as she ponders. Ah, might as well get it over with.

"I'm invested in 5 Days Darkness... and vise versa.. . He says its not fair given his state with the Enterprise and the Living Fleet itself, but I don't really give a shit about that. Or what the public would think if this came out. We've spent plenty of time together as it is..."

She reaches down to rest her glass on the floor, and reaches to tie her hair up.

"That being said, I don't honestly know what it is. Its like the awkward stage of dating when two people are too old to call it that. I enjoy his company, he enjoys mine... But there are no boundaries set, no requirements which makes it hard to process.."

The short grey dress is easily tugged off along with rest of her clothing, and she sits by the pool, naked, turning to give him a look. The scar left by Hales' attack decorated her right shoulder still.

"I wanted to tell you this all ASAP. But I was hesitant since it could have an effect I couldn't foresee. And the previous work task of mine was so draining that it feels irrelevant to talk about this in comparison to saving the Living...But make no mistake, I'm still my own Empress, was it, free to do what I want."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:00, Tue 12 Nov 2019.