Scene #9277: Market Scuffle-2

Owner	Pose
Distortion Dets.	"Ezra, I don't know how this happened, but this isn't who I need you to be right now. Shape up." The Detective stares not at her assistant, but at one of the disassembled teddy bear figures, shredded against the alley pavement at the furthest edge of Liza's remnant poison gas. Moses' voice has a slight ragged edge to it, but whether from the poison, or something else, it's unclear. Ezra's head tilts off to the side, like a slow-motion flinch, but her expression just falls onto something else- colder? It's hard to tell. She just nods the Detective's way, and brushes a sleeve across her lower face. When Ezra's posture resets, it's rigid, professional- for once the military styling of her jacket, despite all its little patches and stickers, fits her. She says nothing. "Your bag, get it, get back here. Quickly." "Yes, Detective."- And that's that, no words to anyone else, Ezra sets off. 'Can you hear me?' 'Who's your boss, and where are they?' With the goon Odette has so graciously rescued, corroborating the narrative is easy enough- bleary, disoriented, and thankful to be alive, blurted out comments reconfirm that the thugs were in fact hired by YuRia, of YuRia Atelier fame, but similarly volunteering in some sort of likely-to-be-regretted haze to even show the group where he was to return to when succesful, if doing that means not being left injured alone in an alleyway, with all the risk that comes with that even in the outermost areas of a Nest. Moses reluctantly puts a word in favor of that, "Mm. Drag him along. If he isn't suicidal, what other way would there be to trust his instruction than to keep him around? Fixer," Moses snaps her fingers at Odette- cloudy grey eyes fix on the medic, blank expression giving away the Detective may have forgotten her name, "Make sure he can walk. I want to move." . . . When enough of a breather has passed, when Ezra returns, and with whatever dragged-along goons the group has in tow, Moses sets off down indistinct industrial alleyways, at the comment and prodding of the group's voluntold guides. "You- you won't find her atelier on any sort of map, you know. So- so you have to trust me, okay? Everything's all hidden and crazy. So.. so.." "Mm. I see. Shut him up." "Detective? Shouldn't-" "No, Ezra. I don't want back-talk." Ezra stops, hands clutching the straps of her weapon case. "Detective! I don't mean that! But... this all happened still? Your pipe and everything... Detective, I know you don't like to talk about it but, shouldn't you?"
Distortion Dets.	Moses' fingernails curl into the flesh of her own palms, and her teeth grit- instinct irritability. As she actually turns to look at her assistant, it softens. "Mm. Fine. You're all owed explanations. As... most of you may know, my area of inquiry, studying the Distortion phenomenon, is served by my unique capacities. The fact that I can see them as I do," As Moses talks, Ezra shuffles over to clasp her hands around the side of the dragged-along goon's ears, deciding without being told that the mercenary shouldn't be privy to this conversation. "That hasn't forever been how I've lived. I may be quite mad, but I'm not that lost. No, a few months, at this point. Coinciding with the Distortion phenomenon. And, coinciding with that pipe appearing in my possession. I've always had- excuse me, I haven't always had it, but it's easy for me to forget that. For how unusual it is... I forget that, as well. It's so natural a tool, and it just won't do having it taken from me." Ezra gives the goon's ears a tighter squeeze- with the kind of sudden pressure to the side of the head that makes the eyes bulge in mortal terror -smiling in some sort of reassurance the Detective's way. "We're gonna get it back." "Mm. That's not in question." The taller woman just nods, a small motion. Without her pipe at hand, Moses' hands seem to not know what to do with themselves- periodically, she bites at her thumbnail, inspects whatever damage her teeth may have done to it, brushes her blouse off- fidgeting motions as the group carries on that convey a great bit of unease. Once, at a cross-alleyway, where a forgotten old vending machine sits, she even pauses to check if it by any chance dispenses cigarettes- and curses, when it just stocks chips and bars. . . . "It's- it's just one more turn around the corner, and we're there! A big red door in the wall!" Moses stares daggers at the goon, tired, not wanting to question anything further. It's been a long, circuitous-feelimg walk, even guided. Without anything to hassle them along the way, it feels suspicious, but as the thug says, around the corner, just there, in the wall of an alleyway, is a fancy, gold-and-red door, with ornate gears, a wreath of bows, and even a welcome mat outside? Moses just stares at it for a long moment, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This world is going insane. Are we supposed to knock?" "... Maybe!" "Mm."
Father Berislav	Pick one to save. Ignore the rest. Berislav lowers Chance from his shoulder, but keeps a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Gamble," he says, softly but firmly, beckoning the other to come close. Both of them are held to him, faces pressed against the soft knit of his cardigan for the duration of the gas' deployment and effects. I'm sure it's nothing they haven't seen before. But what's the point of our work here if their generation is so inured by the violence that they can't imagine anything better than this? "Thank you for your cooperation," says Berislav to the rescued goon after the answers are given. His thoughts return to the day they met Veronica--moreover, to the former Razorback. More recently, to Liza's remarks about their level of capability. 'They always offer a fortune for jobs that are gonna kill you.' "Tell me something. Were you sure you'd be able to do this job? Or is it just that you couldn't afford not to try? You mentioned 'she' paid well. Where do you live?" ... Shut him up. Berislav's brow lifts in mild surprise. Ezra's firm grasp on the goon's skull, growing gradually firmer, is, he hopes, tempered by the gentle presence of his hand on her forearm. He shakes his head softly, as if to say 'don't overdo it,' then gives Moses' explanation the rest of his attention. We're gonna get it back. Berislav nods assuringly. ... Are we supposed to knock? "That would be a refreshing bit of hospitality, wouldn't it? I only wish our first impression weren't stained by this skulduggery." Unless someone stops him, he knocks.
Angela	Chance and Gamble can be pulled into Berislav and protected from seeing (though not protected from hearing) mega-violence. Gamble still flinches with each noise of violence. Chance remains still. rNevertheless, once murders are over, Chance and Gamble seem pleased by the defeat of the teddy bears (and the astute might notice that Gamble is hiding a bright red teddy bear behind her back), but they're sort of just marveling at Ezra and Moses at work. Neither of them have heard of YuRia Atelier or YuRia before though they did recognize the bears as based off Kkomi, an old discontinued mascot character. Chance is writing in his little notepad. Attack Bears - YuRia Atelier? New kind of workshop weapon? Is stuffing deadly? Camera - Photos? Associated With The PhotoFinish Syndicate? Hidden Atelier??? Magic Workshop???? Associated With Red Sack?????? But then Moses xplains the pipe. Chance listens intently. His eyes get a little crossed when he tries to fenagle Moses's pipe with the Distortion phenomena but he ultimately follows after the Detective, the Ezra, and the Goon while tapping at his notepad with his pencil in deep thought. Ultimately he adds... Can Distortions be pipes? Forgets pipe wasn't always there. But it's a tool. Tool like Pianist's Piano was a tool? What does the pipe even do? Besides letting her see the Distortion...? Gamble, who is polite, raises her fist to knock on the door but is beaten to it by Father Berislav. Yeah of course THEY aren't going to stop him. "It DOES say welcome," Gamble says, with childlike logic.
Odette Raskins	That's a lead. Breathing a sigh of relief at the goon both being stable-alive and providing useful information, Odette's still got her hands in her medical kit when when she's given new orders from Moses. "Makes sense... Guess you're going to be with us for a little while longer, then." She gives the goon a reassuring pat on the shoulder before getting to work on the rest of his wounds, feeling only slightly wounded that Moses might have forgotten her name already. After making sure that the goon can actually walk (through a combination of field surgery and good ol' chemical injections), it's time to go! Odette spends the time en route checking on everyone's wounds, focusing in particular on Ezra after her teddy-based beating earlier. "So how did you get caught up in all that bear stuff, anyway? Did they lure you over there with something?" A beat, and then she digs around in her bag. "Was it weird food? I think I've still got some weird stuff for you to try in here, actually! Might not be warm anymore, though..." It's not, but it's still weird and gimmicky fair food on a stick. As Moses goes into her area of expertise regarding the distortions, though, Odette pipes down and listens up. "Sounds like that pipe's real important to you, yeah. It does feel a little off, seeing you without it..." While the group continues moving along, Odette offers Moses a plasticky multitool that looks like some strange combination of scissors, a holster, and a Swiss army knife with plenty of little fiddly bits all over it to mess with. "You might have better luck figuring this out than me. I'm too used to just using the tools that aren't an all-in-one." Before she can give up on how long this walk feels, the door is finally there! Odette stares at it dully for a few moments alongside Moses and Ezra, glancing up at the two taller investigators before chuckling lightly at Berislav's comment. "For real. I mean, we should probably still be ready, but if it's a pleasant surprise... Maybe they'll even be glad we brought some of their friends back." She stays at the door alongside Berislav and Gamble, although she's not going to reach over to knock so it doesn't sound like they're banging on the door or something.
Hibiki Tachibana	These bears are too weird. Too weird. Just... exiting stage right. Are they going back to the one who apparently sent them. YuRia, someone who runs a Workshop...? Are they... her creations? Even with all the fantastical stuff shown back at the expo, human-sized (and normal-sized) teddy bears that can throw hands like that would be... different. The goons being more willing to answer her is both nice, and also makes Hibiki think about 'that shit she's been doing' - it's true, Moses has some seriously extraordinary abilities, both visualizing Distortions and otherwise. She somehow hadn't considered anything she does as a consequence of the pipe so much as something Moses herself must've been doing until now, though. "This YuRia sounds like she won't take you guys messing up lightly..." ...is what she says before one of those bears snatches the fabled pipe away. Ah. "Hey--!" ... The whole 'pick one to save' left a very foul taste in her mouth, so before they make to follow their chosen thug to the location of the Workshop, she took the rest of the writhing and gassed goons and sort of just dragged them up against the building walls making up the alleyway in the most comfortable and easy-to-breathe-in positions she could manage. A few, she yanked off things like jackets to ball up to use as extremely makeshift pillows. It's not a lot, but it's better than just leaving them suffering where they fell. Well, depending on exactly how lethal or not the 'acute onset respiratory failure' of Liza's blend actually is, she might be hitching her breath while closing a few eyes, in between doing what she little she can for the ones who still have the energy to hack and cough. "...Sit tight. Someone'll be along for you soon enough," her murmuring is heavy and unsatisfied either way. By the time they're all on their way and gone, Hibiki very likely on the very tail end of the group, an anonymous tip has been delivered back to Tres Association's expo security detail to check one of the nearby alleyways. ... This world is going insane. Are we supposed to knock? "I'm pretty sure if she wanted to sic any more bears on us, she would've already." They could just jump them once they're inside, but starting trouble inside a Workshop sounds... wrong? Sort of wrong. Maybe it's because of all the Workshop workers and craftsmen they've met so far, but she just can't imagine them kicking off fights where they work. Then again, she also can't imagine them using teddy bears as muscle, so.
Liza Grier	Liza's calculations regarding the grenade aren't precise. She mixes and loads the things herself, so she's sure about the distribution, but her decision regarding everyone's safety is more heuristic than mathematical. It's slightly chillind that she actually stops to check that Berislav did, in fact, keep the kids away, and that Ezra and Moses had, indeed, taken the hint and dove out of the way immediately. Was the idea just that she'd have Odette treat them if they failed? Did she even think that far? She does, at least, swear when a teddy bear runs through the aerosolized terrorist attack to snag Moses' pipe. "Of course it'd be the fucking--" is the vocalized tip to a darkly muttered iceberg, involving snap judgements based on lack of internal machinery. Her consideration for the desperate goons comes not third nor fourth, but not at all. She doesn't seem to notice what Hibiki is actually doing when she shouts back "Symphogear. Keep up." as the group gets moving. 'That hasn't forever been how I've lived. I may be quite mad, but I'm not that lost.' "I figured." Liza says without context, following up as an incidental outgrowth of having spare time during the interrogation and march. "I barely have any of the details, but it's obvious you snapped in some way. Broke in half and slipped through the net, and now you're talking about seeing things the way they really are. If that wasn't real recent, you'd be much less . . . I don't know. Human." She takes the break in conversation to enter about thirty different commends into her wrist PDA's queue, briefly counting off something completely arcane on her fingers that certainly doesn't involve numbers smaller than six. "Can't have shit in the City. No, actually, it's a good thing you're starting to think like that. This is what they've been doing your whole life, so you've gotta start somewhere." 'Are we supposed to knock?' By the time they reach the door, Liza is just wrapping up feeding little red crystals into the strap port like she's loading a magazine with her thumb. "If you don't, I can get thermite down here in sixty. Your choice."
Angela	"What's thermite?" Gamble asks. "Can I have one?" "It tells your temperature." Chance explains. "So you know when you're sick."
Distortion Dets.	'Were you sure you'd be able to do this job? Or is it just that you couldn't afford not to try? You mentioned 'she' paid well. Where do you live?' "Ah, well- look, if you saw all the info she had on the old bi- on your friend, she'd look like an easy enough mark! Funny tricks? Magic smoke? That's not so scary as all the freaks- all the friends she's got, I guess. We- I wanted the cash, it seemed easy enough! Get a pipe, with this much help? Sure, she's a fixer, but... rank five? Still just one woman and her-" Glares make the goon wither, really not the time to be a combative meanie. "I- I live out in the Backstreets, we just got snuck in here. I- I shoulda just taken a different job, that's all. You want my address? It's-" He rattles it off. 'So how did you get caught up in all that bear stuff, anyway? Did they lure you over there with something?' Ezra looks from Odette to Moses, and gets no return look or acknowledgement. Staying quiet doesn't seem to upset her, for the long seconds she delays, but she does respond- shifting back to that familiar cheery expression like it's a costume. "Oh, ehe, yeahhhh, those red little bears, I saw one just lying there out away, like someone had lost it! What's a girl to do but go grab it? Only, ehhhhhh, it got up and waddled on away! So... I followed. Dummy, Ezra, you shouldn't have done a silly thing like that~!" Moses, probably listening, just chews on her thumbnail, continuing with business. 'I barely have any of the details,' "Mm. Yes. I'd answer more, but I'm afraid I'm in quite a bad mood, and thinking on it makes my ears ring." A long exhale, uncomfortable. No, I worry I wasn't anything close to human before, actually." She isn't keen on saying more. >He shakes his head softly, Ezra's reaction to the sudden touch is immediate, freezing up and immediately loosening her grip a bit- an instinct to stop whatever she's doing. Side-eyed, red irises glare at Berislav, long after he stops his cautioning head-shake. The hapless thug the Fixer holds squirms in the newfound breathing room. . . . . . The door- which can only be to YuRia's Atelier Workshop, is weird under any close inspection. It doesn't line up with seams in the building, doesn't mesh right with the pavement, and it doesn't have a doorknob- just a keyhole, opaque and not even a hole, just apparently painted on. Every now and then, the gear decorations bordering it click and whirr, but it's not steady constant motion, just a small indication that something about it all is active. "... Mister Berislav. You remember that photography studio? What do you see on the wall here? This building doesn't make sense to me. If it's a Distortion... be on guard?" She doesn't ask Ezra- to which Ezra perks up, eyes fixed on her boss, then the door. The sidekick doesn't speak up, but clearly readies up an answer for if she's asked. 'If you don't, I can get thermite down here in sixty. Your choice.' Moses sets her jaw, considering it. She raises a hand a few inches before realizing she isn't holding her pipe towards her face, and fails to subtly re-direct the action into just pressing a knuckle into her temple, stressed. "As much as I'd like to see that, if this is a Distortion... we should try decorum, first. It puts a bitter taste in my mouth to say so." 'I'm pretty sure if she wanted to sic any more bears on us, she would've already.' "Mm. I don't like this. But..." Moses sighs, and Ezra, once more, ever the sidekick, is nearby to offer a little grounding comfort. Moses continues, "Perhaps, if we're very lucky, she can't afford to. Ah, but when are we ever?" A dry, unfunny laugh.
Distortion Dets.	>Unless someone stops him, he knocks. Ominously, at the knock, the door opens up with a slow creeeeeaak, revealing a downward staircase lined with ornate red wallpaper and brass pipes. Somewhere down below, a steam whistle blows, like a factory shift-change. Metal clangs within. "Ezra, want to take the captive with you up front?" "Ehhh? Sure, Detective! C'mere, we're heading on down... hey, so- I should try and keep him safe..? If someone jumps out all 'Grahhh', and tries to slash us up..?" "Mm. Use your best judgement." Noncommittal, "Okey dokes, Detective!" Heavy bootfalls echo along the thin stairwell, as Ezra trudges on downwards, hauling the guide. "Hey, you ever been inside, buddy?" "Ah- a, me? No, I met the client outside, this is real fucking scar-" "Well, what's she like! C'mon, I know you're scared, but like, how's she look, is she smart and always hard at work or-" "YuRia? She's, well, uhhhh..." "Oh, finally! It took you all so long to make it! Moses, she's with you all?" From around one of the corners, someone who could only be YuRia emerges, footsteps small and muffled by the noise of ornate brass machinery around her. She cranes her head to the side, trying to look past Ezra, not at her even a little bit- more interested in some of the others streaming in behind her. Flanking her, from little crevices in the hallway, are more of those terrible teddy bears, but they hold back, at least for now. "Could you get out of the way? Widening this hallway would take time. Come on, shoo, make room for Moses. I want to get a good look at her." "Ehhh? Hey-" YuRia, like it should work, does a little side-flap with a hand, as if she could use the force to make Ezra just scooch out of the way. Baffled, Ezra just stands by, as Moses and the others fill in- Moses squeezes past her, to see YuRia for herself, and falters at something she isn't seeing at all. Clearing her throat- in a polite tone she made no indication would be possible for her to use towards someone who'd steal her pipe, "Ah. I assume you must be this workshop's Miester, yes..?" Huh?? What's gotten into the Detective? Ezra, even, stares confused at her.
Father Berislav	After being given the address, Berislav nods. "Thank you. What I'd really like from you is something that can't be done right here, right now. It'll have to wait until you're home. But it's simple, and I think that it'll do you some good. Certainly, it'll be much less dangerous than stealing from Fixers. If you're diligent, it can even be your shield." "I'll write you a letter and follow up in a week," he says. What's thermite? Can I have one? It tells your temperature. Berislav chuckles and pats the kids on the head. You remember that photography studio? What do you see on the wall here? "I see a red door with gold trim. There's a wreath and a welcome mat," he says. "There are gears here," he further illustrates, pointing. "And it doesn't seem to be quite flush with either the wall or the ground." The slow, creaking open draws a 'goodness' from the priest under-the-breath. "That's dramatic, isn't it?" Following Ezra and the captive goon in, his brow again lifts in surprise when he sees YuRia. "Yes, Detective Moses is with us," says Berislav. With a terse, almost disciplinarian kind of politeness, "Would you mind telling us why you took her pipe, and what you hoped to accomplish with photography?"
Hibiki Tachibana	Symphogear. Keep up. "I'll be fine," is Hibiki's only curt and off-handed reply to Liza, equally not looking in her direction as she lags somewhat behind to do her deed. She won't take so long that she has to play catch-up, although she cuts it close. ... "...I think she could've afforded to..." comes a belated reply to Moses, once they're face to face with YuRia - and her fluffy entourage - in the red-decorated and pipe-laden hallway. For a moment, Hibiki is ready for a fight, but that sort've diminishes once it becomes obvious she only has starry eyes for Moses and no one - or thing - else. In other words, she doesn't presume she has any care in actually starting a fight with them right now. A glance is given to Moses' expression and then back to YuRia, before she frowns. Does that caught-off-guard look mean... she's not seeing any traces of a Distortion here? Well, if the Detective is making the effort to try and talk this out either way... "Miss... YuRia, right? You, um..." She recalls what the goon who spilled some information before mentioned. "...you're a collector of 'items that don't make sense'. Aren't you? That's what somebody said, and why I'm guessing you were after Moses' pipe. And why you went through all the trouble of trying to snatch it away...?" She's almost about to ask where it is now, before something else hits her first, getting her to blink. "You were... /waiting for us/ to come track you down here?" By 'us', that probably still means 'Moses', for all the focus the Meister has on her.
Odette Raskins	"If you don't, I can get thermite down here in sixty. Your choice. Can I have one?" Odette opens her mouth and closes it in short order when Liza speaks, then goes wide-eyed when Gamble and Chance start asking about thermite. "N... Not until you're older. Also, wait for someone to show you how to use it safely, okay? It can hurt really, REALLY bad if it's used improperly." The medic cautions, looking over at Liza afterwards with a vaguely hopeful expression. "Right, Miss Grier?" "I shoulda just taken a different job, that's all." "Mhm. You're clearly not cut out for this kind of work, so try something that'll help people. You might even get paid more without having to risk your neck." She suggests with a brief incline of her head, visibly trying to get the goon to look at her in particular. "I mean, that's what I do, and it couldn't be any worse than doing this and screwing up, right?" "Dummy, Ezra, you shouldn't have done a silly thing like that~!" Odette can't put her finger on why, but she gets the distinct feeling she's accidentally touched on something she shouldn't have. The concern is evident on her face as she listens to Ezra and looks straight at that cheery expression, and so is the distinct look of helplessness when she sees that look Ezra gives Berislav at the contact. "W... Well, doing that got us this lead that we didn't have before. In a roundabout way, it really worked out?" She suggests with an awkward chuckle during her fumbling attempt to reassure Ezra somehow. The creaking of the door snaps Odette's attention back to the task at hand, and she freezes up briefly as she watches it open on its own. She's half ready to step back as it does, but relaxes again when it turns out there's just a way down and nobody jumping out at everyone. "So far, so good... Hm? Is that YuRia?" The contrast between the lady that is probably YuRia and the goons is even more apparent to Odette upon seeing her in person. The sight of the teddy bears has the EMT freezing up, too, but only for a moment once she realizes that they're not approaching yet. "Sorry to intrude? Wait, um. You're Miss YuRia, right?" Odette asks to confirm her identity first, then looks over at Moses when a new term gets brought up all of a sudden. "Meister? Ah.. R-right, did you send those bears out and-" She points a thumb at the goon. "-him to get it? Also, did you make all of them yourself?"
Angela	''Berislav fails to prevent Gamble's interest in thermite'' Gamble decides to get 'a thermite' as soon as possible! ''N... Not until yoiu're older.'' Gamble decides she really needs thermite, like, right now! She looks at Liza Grier, hope in her eyes. She wiggles from side to side, putting on the sad puppy show. "Would you mind showing me how to use thermite properly, Miss Grier? Pleeease?" She is not sure why a temperature taking device is so dangerous but since it's dangerous it's clearly cool. Or hot. It really depends what the thermite says. ''Would you mind telling us why you took her pipe'' "Yeah...!" Chance says, shoving his notepad forward and dramatically flourishing his pencil. "Tell us your story and we may even plug your Workshop for the next newsletter...!" ''Widening this hallway would take time'' Chance and Gamble give each other a beguiled look before turning back to Yuria.
Distortion Dets.	'W... Well, doing that got us this lead that we didn't have before. In a roundabout way, it really worked out?' Red eyes fix on Odette, and a bit later, Ezra smiles. "I guess that's right, medic girl! Ehe. Now maybe I'll get to fill out another autograph..." Odette's plan to cheer up Ezra, successful..? Was she sad, to begin with? 'I see a red door with gold trim. There's a wreath and a welcome mat,' "I see the same. Mm. So this is, in at least some way, different. More advanced, perhaps? I can't imagine this as something natural, and so..." Her teeth clench, again wishing she had her pipe on hand. It's ruining all her habitual gestures!! . . . . . 'Sorry to intrude? Wait, um. You're Miss YuRia, right?' 'Meister? Ah.. R-right, did you send those bears out and-' 'him to get it? Also, did you make all of them yourself?' YuRia sighs, looking out at Odette- then down to her own fingernails, instead. Putting a finger out for each answer she gives, needing to keep count, "Yes, that's me, yes I am, yes I did, yes I did, yes I did. I'm sorry, id you have something interesting to say or ask?" 'You were... /waiting for us/ to come track you down here?' '...you're a collector of 'items that don't make sense'. Aren't you?' YuRia tilts her head, staring at Hibiki. "I don't really care at all about collecting things up, but isn't it easiest to figure something out if you can get your hands on it, and take it apart to see what makes it tick, what it can even do, and what you can do to it? Ahhh. But everything 'makes sense', you know? Eventually, anyways~!." As soon as her words are done, all attention drifts off Hibiki- YuRia has a type, and the Symphogear User should've come in full regalia to meet that. Alas. 'Would you mind telling us why you took her pipe, and what you hoped to accomplish with photography?' "If you want to gather up useful info on something, who wouldn't prefer some video or a set of photos against just hearing someone's description? People embellish! I can't have that, I need truth, up close if I can! Sure, it's illegal here, but where's the cops?" She 'tsk''s, like it should be obvious. "Objectivity, that's a tenet to proper research! I'm a researcher, after all. That pipe ..." Within the group, Moses raises an eyebrow. YuRia target-locks, eyes fixed straight through the Detective. Folding her hands in front of her, against the fabric of her dress, YuRia smiles as she continues- smiles with bared teeth. "'Detective' Moses, investigator of the supernatural and unusual, we're two of a kind! You, with your fascinations towards those weird monsters,", eyes closed, a hand gesturing at her own heart, fingers splayed, prideful and smug, "And I, with my pursuit on the fascinating intricacies of the few strange relics, like that pipe of yours, that choose not to operate on physical laws, but emotional, magical, impossible! Say, 'Detective' Moses, you know it's true, don't you? That special trinket of yours, is a piece of Psychoment?" Oh, god, she's treating this like a presentation pitch. Ezra, successfully shooed off to the side of the hallway, glares out at the young woman as she goes on and on. "Detective? Why are you hearing her out? We could get your pipe back, I'm sure of it, the bears-" Without order, one steps closer to Ezra. You can almost see her bristle up at the giant plush.
Distortion Dets.	"'Psychoment'? Elaborate, if you will." "Psychic equipment, Psychoment!" Without her actually speaking English, the Understanding still leaves the words YuRia as a messy combination of terms, sawed in half and spliced together. "Hey, while you're here, what do you feel, or think, when you try and get the pipe to change it and all that smoke around?" "Hey, don't just barrage the Detective with stuff like that-" Moses coughs, silencing her assistant. "I don't want to answer your questions while you're still holding on to something of mine. Return it, now." "..." Moses glares- and YuRia pouts. "... If you do, I'll-" "You'll answer whatever I ask about it before you go? That's almost as good, anyways~!" Moses pinches the bridge of her nose. "Detective, why are you even entertaining this? I'm telling you, we could win!" "Ezra. She doesn't have signs of the Distortion. Not at all, that I can see." "Ehhhhhh?!? But you keep saying nobody doesn't, 'cept for when you're lookin at yourself?" YuRia, not really sure what to make of that, just smiles, smug, like it's making something she's brought to the table more desirable somehow.
Hibiki Tachibana	To be honest, while coming dressed to impress would've definitely got her a better chance of getting the time of day out of YuRia-- seeing Moses get endlessly barraged by energetic questions and the Meister's love of strange relics and also having that odd pipe lorded over them as collateral actually makes Hibiki silently thankful she didn't. She might've just died if /she/ was on the receiving end of that truly vicious lock-on. "...Um." She doesn't actually know what to say at all to... everything, right away. "...If I'm keeping up with things... Moses, everybody is supposed to look 'Distorted' to you - except yourself - and she... doesn't?" At least, given Ezra's response back to the Detective, that's what she pieces together. It sounds correct. She thinks. "Which might make her... ...as unique in that regard as you are...?" Unintentionally feeding into YuRia's sort-of-sales pitch, Hibiki opens her mouth, stops, and then folds her arms in thought before speaking up slower. "Emotional, magical, and impossible..." Hmm. Does Hibiki Tachibana, magical girl(?) and also girl who has been around things like EGO, know anything about that. Definitely not. Still, the more she considers this whole thing, the... actually, the /simpler/ it seems? If she looks past all the back and forth, and the exasperation, and the constant flow of words... "Well... ...YuRia is interested in Moses, and her 'Psychoment'..." "... ...And Moses has met someone who's just plain weird to her senses..." "... ... ...And Ezra sounded pretty excited about coming to visit, and 'wringing her arm into' something..." Hmm. "It sounds like... we could probably all work something out...?"
Odette Raskins	"I'm sorry, id you have something interesting to say or ask?" Odette flinches, but she doesn't verbally answer her while also answering YuRia immediately in that same moment of silence. "N.. Not yet. I'll come up with something." She half-promises while pouting slightly, racking her brain lightly to try and live up to that eventually. "isn't it easiest to figure something out if you can get your hands on it, and take it apart to see what makes it tick, what it can even do, and what you can do to it?" "Or putting stuff together to see how it all interacts? If it explodes, if it turns into something bland and useful, if it turns into something cool and useless..." As she speaks, Odette picks two small vials out of her bag, and she starts shaking them around. "Or both. Like so!" She pops the vials open, shoves the open ends into each other, and the liquid inside both of them starts turning into a foam with the texture of vaguely metallic packing peanuts. After indulging in a bit of quiet glee at the mix working, Odette watches YuRia's reaction closely before realizing she might've put in too much and hastily separates the vials so she does't leave too much of a crunchy mess on the floor. "That pipe ..." "That special trinket of yours, is a piece of Psychoment?" "Detective, why are you even entertaining this?" Information! Odette's pretty curious to hear about Moses' pipe, too, although she's also got a duty to actually help get it back for the Detective. That's why she's here, after all, although the situation does seem to be inching closer to a resolution that she finds herself speaking up eventually. "It's probably alright, Miss Ezra. Um! Even though we would, a fight would be needlessly dangerous." She glances at Gamble and Chance pointedly as she says that, trying to keep her head still so YuRia doesn't catch on too easily. Hibiki gets a quick nod from Odette, too, as the EMT looks relieved that she's on the same page. "Right! Besides, a few questions shouldn't be too bad. Miss Moses can always not answer the more sensitive stuff, and I'm guessing Miss YuRia wouldn't want a fight in her home, either, since there aren't any cops around and all."
Father Berislav	"'Useful' information," Berislav repeats. "Yes," he says with a little sigh, "That is what it comes down to, isn't it? Where and how the information will be used." "I'm not a Meister myself, and I don't think we share many interests. So, given your methods of securing it, I'd appreciate knowing what you intend to do with the information Moses gives you today." Detective, why are you even entertaining this? I'm telling you, we could win! "I know you're upset. We need to pick our battles," says Berislav softly. "I don't appreciate what YuRia did, either," he adds. "But fighting her where all of her creations and tools are in reach would cost us more than we need to pay, if fighting her is necessary at all." It sounds like... we could probably all work something out...? Returning his attention to YuRia, "That sounds reasonable, Hibiki. For my part, what I'd like to 'work out,' considering Moses' willingness to cooperate, is your understanding that your conduct was unacceptable, for a number of reasons. The first of which is that we already have some enemies in the City, and the nature of our work in it means they won't be the last--and we don't want any of them getting the idea that they can hire people to harass and steal from us without consequence." Berislav frowns. "If Moses, or anyone else I work with, has something that interests you, we're not difficult to find and we're not especially averse to working something out." A pause, and a nod towards Moses. "As you can see."