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Holly Asturias     The gate leading to Holly's Sanatorium is right next to it. Not because that's where it spawned; actually, that one's in a cave a good hour away by foot, an archway that cultists were worshipping but not using correctly. Rather, it's because the Concord was quite willing to construct an artificial gate within proximity of a medical facility that Partners will be free to use. Made of gold and steel, looking a bit like a steampunk contraption, the gate is located in a greenhouse filled with all manners of colorful flowers surrounding a clear path from one end of the building to the other.

    Holly, is there to greet you herself, in her usual outfit: a black and purple dress that gives just a bit of a baroque vibe, though the entire front half of the dress' ball gown shape isn't there, revealing instead tight black leather pants and slightly heeled boots, secured by multiple belt-like straps. There's nothing modest about her chest, and the golden ribcage supporting it even draws some attention, though one might also be captivated by the solid gold headdress that's coming right out of her skull, like a large halo, or a big fancy hat with the hat part removed to leave only the rim. If all else fails, her fangs - and her blood red eyes, surrounded by dark eyeshadow - are features that call to attention all the same.

    The first few people out of the gate are assaulted quite immediately by the tall woman, reaching out to grab them, pull them into a warm and overly tight hug, and then squeeze, like the world is about to end. "Hello, hi! I'm SO glad you made it, I was so worried!" Was there even a risk? "It's my first time receiving guests from offworld, I was terrified my instructions weren't clear enough!" She gave thorough coordinates, per standard protocol. "Or that no one would be interested! After all this is just a medical facility, not some grand city with sights to see!" It's actually a pretty nice looking mansion and is that a fenced off mountain resort right behind it? "Do not fret! Do not worry!" She's doing all of that on her own. "I will make sure to answer all of your questions and show you all there is to see!" ... do your best Holly.

    Leaving the greenhouse is a trivial matter; a small path leads down a very slight incline, towards a large stone courtyard in front of the Sanatorium itself. It's a minute of walking, at most. The weather is merely Okay; it's cloudy, the air is humid, there's the slightest haze in the air like fog before heavy rain. At least it isn't cold, or scorching hot. It's just Okay, and sometimes that's the best you get.

    Calling the Sanatorium a 'gothic mansion' really isn't far off the mark. It's old architecture, surely several hundreds of years old, but maintained well enough. The cloudy sky and layer of fog amplify the spooky vampire manor vibe, the windows brightly lit from all the interior lighting. Statues around the courtyard depict both griffins and bird-headed valkyrie-like women, and the grass around paths, while a bit rough, is accented by all sorts of flowers, planted haphazardly to add a splash of color to the drab scenery.

    The most striking feature of the immediate landscape isn't Holly's mansion though; far to the southeast, an immense spire looms, atop which sits a bright white and gold ball of light. The light is uncomfortable to look at, not for its brightness - it isn't at all, somehow, and does not illuminate anything around it - but for a sense of doom and foreboding. It's a bit more than light: time-based magic (or tech?) readings are off the charts. It's probably safe, don't worry.
Holly Asturias     By the time everyone has arrived, gathered, and given their hellos, Holly has guided you all to the courtyard, to begin the tour there.

    "Welcome, formally, to my little Sanatorium! I am Director Holly Asturias, but you can also call me Doctor Holly, Doctor Asturias, Doctor, Holly, or... anything will do, truthfully. This land has always belonged to the Luxuria bloodline, and has been used to treat and conduct medical research on Revenants for hundreds of years, long before the Resurgence. I'm afraid its history is a bit lost before then, but it may have just been a mansion. Under my direction, humans are also welcome, though, understandably, few are comfortable coming. Most human patients we've hosted were here due to circumstances and not by choice, but I hope - we hope - with time we can change this."

    With a happy clap, Holly clasps her hands together.

    "At the moment, the Sanatorium is staffed by fifteen... fourteen, of us, including myself. On a busy day, up to a dozen patients could be coming in, not counting those who are staying here long-term due to their conditions. Demand has been steadily increasing of late, sadly... Horrors have been more active in the area, resulting in a greater number of injuries and infections, as well as displaced souls who need a place to rest overnight. And, of course, in greater difficulty for our patients to reach us in the first place. Many of our shortages are in the process of being resolved, but until a week ago, the situation was looking critical."

    "I will do my very best to answer any questions you may have, whether they be about myself, this world, or its peoples. I hope this will be the start of many wonderful partnerships! If you need care, I will host you. If you need help, I will make myself available. In turn, I hope you will all be willing to assist with my research. My goal is nothing less than to cure Horrors of the grievous condition that causes their mutation into mindless monsters, whether they were originally a human, a Revenant, or simple flora and fauna. This... may require assisting me with neutralizing Horrors, or at least capturing samples from them, but we can discuss such when the time comes."

    "For now, I simply wish to give you a tour! We'll start with the main facility itself, and then we'll end with the baths. If you'd like to enjoy their warmth, towels and a changing area will be provided, as well as food and drinks - but there are ample seats to simply enjoy the view, too. I'll get into it more later, but the baths play an integral part in some of the treatments we provide here. My Formae carry especially well through water, allowing them to soothe pain, treat illnesses, and even slow the spread of corruption."

    "Before we go inside, I must ask: does anyone here have particular allergies, strong psychological reactions to medical or medical-adjacent environments, special accessibility needs or considerations, or other pressing questions that should be addressed first?"

    She pauses, pointedly, in case anyone does.

    "I must also state, of course, that physical contact with patients is strictly forbidden. Though we use Formae to sterilize the whole building, and ourselves, and none of our current on-file patients are a contagion risk, it's best to be careful. We wouldn't want any of you to take home an infection and bring Horrors to your own slice of the Multiverse."

    She might like talking. A lot.
Riku Asakura Riku comes through the gate wearing his normal outfit.  That is to say, a jean jacket with an orange shirt underneath featuring a space logo.  A pair of jeans and tennis shoes, too.  He's got short dark hair and light skin, looking obviously Japanese.  What he's not prepared for is the warm embrace of Dr. Holly upon arriving.  

"Oh, uh, hi..." he says bashfully, "No, the instructions were fine, I didn't have any problem finding the place with the coordinates you gave!  Thank you!"  He pauses, "Of course I'm interested, it sounds like you're doing good work here trying to save people from becoming horrors..." he says, though not sure about where the line about fretting and worrying comes from.  He shrugs it off and nods, letting her guide him out of the greenhouse and to the courtyard.  

This place is bigger than the picture made it out to be.  It's forboading in a way that causes goosebumps to pop up on the back of Riku's neck.  "It's a very large facility..." he says, he almost said house, but this place isn't a house, it's a place to treat the sick!  Also, any difference in appearance that Holly has compared to a normal human is brushed off. Riku was simply brought up around aliens and has been in the multiverse for a while now.  

"Oh yeah, you mentioned baths.  Are they like hot springs or just really fancy communal baths?" he asks, already asking questions for Holly to answer.  "As for allergies or anything like that, I don't have any, so I should be good to enter!  Though, should I wear a mask?"

He also hesitates about not meeting the patients.  That makes sense too, they're here to get better, not meet some tourists that will eventually be helping with Horrors and Dr. Holly's research.  So he doesn't want to bother them, especially with them feeling in need of medical care.  "That sounds reasonable.  I don't know if I can get infected being half Ultraman," he says casually.  In fact, he doesn't remember the last time he was sick.
Skipper > Command Grab

    It does not help that Skipper is small, fuzzy, and light. The squeeze gets a distinctly mouselike *squeak* out of them, followed by some determined squirming to get loose. They don't actually seem upset, mostly just flustered and embarrassed.

    Once free they try to salvage some dignity by adjusting their tunic and cape and then formally addressing Holly. "Skipper Whiskersmith, your ladyship. Thank you very much for the invite."

    On being told it's a humble facility, Skipper looks skeptical. "That is... a good joke?" They offer. "It's... big. Bigger than any single building I've ever seen, much less been in."

> "Do not fret! Do not worry!"

    Like a sleeper agent receiving a code phrase, Skipper immediately starts fretting and worrying. They only calm down a little bit once they see Riku, who they recognize.

> "Demand has been steadily increasing of late, sadly... Horrors have been more active in the area..."

    Ah. So it's like that.

    Skipper had realized that there would be other worlds like their own, ones facing rising problems, but had still sort of hoped that maybe theirs was unique, that it'd be a simple matter for rallying help from otherwise-idle hands instead of convincing people to take time away from other things that were going on.

    And Holly has an entire warpage-adjacent mansion to work her operation out of, instead of the spare room at a relative's house in the middle of nowhere. And she's a noble - a noble *doctor*, if one can even imagine such a thing! She probably has so many people lined up to help her there's likely a waiting list and an application process!

    Skipper shakes their head, interrupting their train of thought. No, there's no sense in being jealous or envious of what others have, Granny would tan their hide if she caught them thinking like that. The only thing that's actually called for is graciously offering help, no matter the circumstances.

    "I'd be glad to help of course, if you'd have me?" asks Skipper when appropriate. "I can scout, and I can fight..."

> "We wouldn't want any of you to take home an infection and bring Horrors to your own slice of the Multiverse."

    Skipper's hand shoots up so fast that they pull a muscle in the process. "Is- is there a way to be *absolutely sure* that we aren't carrying infections when we leave?"
Kukuru Arriving through the warpgate, Kukuru finds herself on the back foot almost immediately. She's been keeping her instinct to deliver immediate hugs to people under control for a good while now, having been taught well in the ways of not draining the Concord's legal budget. Being ambushed by the very thing she's been taught to avoid, however...

... Has her grinning from horn to horn as she nearly immediately returns Holly's hug with a forward-leaning and comfortably wiggly one of her own. "He-llloooo... Hehe. Aren't you friendly? Aah, there's no reason to worry, dear. You gave just the right instructions to get here." She replies in her usual cheery, yet drowsy tone while trying to assuage those concerns Holly's raised. Wearing her usual frilly white blouse and even more frilly green-to-brown skirt, Kukuru contrasts pretty sharply with Holly visually, yet she already seems quite at ease with the vibes here already.

"Of course we'd be interested in coming, Hollllly. Meeting new Partners is never boring, and knowing that there's someone else that's good at fixing people up is a big relief." She affirms with a welcoming pat on Holly's shoulder.  "Besiiiides. If we just wanted to see a big city, Grand Dorado's just a gate away."

A beat, and then she tilts her head back a little. Unless Holly's releasing the hug, there's a good chance Kukuru might just stay latched onto her for a while. "Oh, oh, have you had a chance to eat there yet? There's a whooole bunch of different places to eat at, no matter what kind of you've gotta follow."

Seeing the Sanatorium itself, Kukuru oohs and aahs in polite awe, and her gaze lingers particularly on the middle structure at the top. "Good napping spot..." She murmurs to herself. Oddly enough, she doesn't seem to feel that way about the other spire with the big ball to the southwest. It's probably got something to do with why she's squinting at it when she looks that way.

Listening to Holly's description of herself and the land captures Kukuru's attention fairly easily, too. Her smile even grows a bit bigger at the mention of changing things, although that soon shifts to a more concerned frown once the Horrors are brought up. She listens closely for a while before being given a chance to ask questions, then raises a hand lazily after giving it a little more thought.

"Doctor Hooooolly." She really likes stretching the O out. "What's your favorite food to eat? Aaand flavor?" She asks first and without a hint of intending it as a joke with her ever-pleasant demeanor. She does follow that up with something more locally relevant afterwards: "Curing the Horrors... Ohhh. Has it ever been done before, or would this be breaking new flooring to get them cured of their Horror-y-ness?"

Hearing about the baths seems to perk Kukuru up a bit, too, although that might be just as much from Holly mentioning food and drinks. "Those baths do sound preeetty neat... Oh. What's a Formae?"
Angela Roland really doesn't want to hang out with vampires. Revenants. Blood Fiends. Whatever you call them, he really doesn't want to deal with it. But weirdly enough, at least according to Angela, the Concord has a pretty notable number of vampiric Partners. 'Holly makes at least three', Angela said, as if she wasn't even sure that number was real or not. Maybe to a multiversal organization that isn't weird at all but it's a ton for Roland.

He can't help but wonder if a normal relationship with Blood Fiends is, as a result, totally plausible. The Blood Fiends he's fought before always turned a lot of people into what they called 'Blood Bags', essentially their thralls to be used as a reliable source of blood. And now he's meeting with a bloodsucking hospital director, isn't that like surrounding her with turkey dinners and expecting her to not have a bite?

He's dragged Netzach along with him. Angela authorized it because anything that gets Netzach to go outside is approved of by her and it'll allow her a moment to clean up the Floor of Art. The agreement with the Sephirah is that they'll help her with her goals, but there's only so much she can get Netzach to do without being more frustrating for her.

''Holly hugs!''

Roland steps back and away instinctively due to the lack of warning freaking him out a little, resulting in a sleepy Netzach being immediately embraced by the lady.

"Hey." They say laconically. "Thanks for the cheery welcome. You want in on this, Roland?"

"Uh, nah, I'm okay." Roland says, slowly easing down.

''Fifteen... fourteen.''

"Did you lose someone?" Roland asks.

"Dude, haha." Netzach says before looking to Holly. "You got a gift shop? Maybe where you can get some sort of mascot stuffed animal? That'd be cool."

''Strong psychological reactions to medical--''

"Oh nah, I barely even felt anything." He adds to reassure(?) Holly. "Grew up raised around all that stuff, gonna have to be real spooky to spook me." He smiles lazily. "We'll do our best to not unleash any Horrors to the multiverse. Feels like it'd be real impolite not to."

Roland looks over to Skipper again, confirming he wasn't hallucinating the 'Critter' last time. He throws a hand their way but otherwise seems content to let Netzach take the lead.
Lissandra      Lissandra isn't in a rush to arrive, but if she comes under grabby-attack after stepping out of the warpgate (despite having already met Holly) then there's only one thing to do; jab the overeager woman lightly between the ribs with one knuckle. Okay, maybe she had other options, but she's startled enough not to have gathered her thoughts that much before it happens. "Yes, yes, settle down..! Off! Goodness..." There's some fussing with her clothes afterward, but it's mostly performative since it's unlikely Holly actually messed them up at all.

     "Admittedly, I am a little surprised at how many people came today. Perhaps word got around after the initial offer? I couldn't say." Enough of those people are familiar to her that she spends a couple seconds finger-waggling at people in greeting, too. "Are you sure you needn't spend a moment to... Breathe, Holly? Do you have a difficult time with crowds, perhaps? Oh nevermind... I'm sure I'd also be a little riled up trying to lead a tour group through my home." She spends a few minutes examining the greenhouse while others in the group arrive, but has no issue following along into the courtyard and beyond at Holly's pace. Like while visiting the Sundew Kingdom, today is a time for getting acquainted and hearing the overall pitch of the operations here, not so much for poring over every little plant at once.

     "It is good to hear that your woes surrounding access to supplies have eased off, at least..." is her main comment about the initial overview, sounding faintly relieved out of sympathy. She *is* visibly tempted to ask about the Formae when it's incidentally mentioned alongside the bath-talk, and while she doesn't lunge straight into asking for all the details she does ask, "On the matter of that power of yours, how much would you be willing to share about its functions and limitations? Not necessarily immediately, but at some point I would like to familiarize myself in the event we collaborate in the future."

     That aside, "No known allergies outside of a seasonal sniffle or two. If you intend on showing us a coldroom though, I may need to throw on another layer." She has no complaints or comments about the sterility or patient policies either; it's quite common-sense. Especially for a group of this size.
UFO Gang "O-kay," says Minamitsu Murasa on the other side of the gate, hands on her hips. "Usually these places are a pretty long walk, so be prepared!"

"I'm always prepared," says Ichirin, adjusting her sunglasses.

Minamitsu looks at her-- and startles; "Where'd you get those?"

Ichirin raises them up to her forehead, smiling beatifically: "At the market! There was a 'ten for ten' sale, but the rest are on the ship."

Ichirin takes the sunglasses off with reverent caution disproportionate to, objectively speaking, cheap sunglasses, and hands them to the cloud of cotton-candy-pink ... cloud floating next to her. The glasses are taken and put on, briefly providing the otherwise-shy Unzan with a pareidoliac face. (He has a normal face, of course, but he's shy.)

"Here we go--"

And the two (three?) of them emerge right in front of Holly.

"Wak!" says Minamitsu, who was the first one through and got Hugged. Minamitsu is not very large, although the anchor she's toting around as perhaps one of the least practical fashion choices in history; she is easily hoisted up. Holly might think for a moment that she is a vampire - Minamitsu is at 'room temperature' after all - but other than that, she shows no real signs. "Hi hi sorry waaaagh phew thanks!"

That was when she got released.

Ichirin curtseys passably well. The pink cloud wearing sunglasses continues to float. "Good evening to you, madame; I am Ichirin Kumoi, and this is my friend and comrade Minamitsu, and this is my *dearest* friend Unzan. Please don't apologize. Places of retreat are realms of comfort and beauty in their own right."

"That was really cool," Minamitsu tells Ichirin. ("Oh thank you!")

With that, the two/three diverge slightly. Ichirin keeps talking to Holly: "This realm's certainly got a feeling to it. Did we come just after a rainstorm...?"

Minamitsu, for her part, says, "Hi Riku!" She pops the Don-Shine pose for a moment, but keeps on going. "Good to see ya! Sorry I didn't stay in touch, we were trying to do things out in the ocean. Shou says hi! She's doing a retreat right now... and Nazrin's on -- ?? -- oh, sorry, miss," Minamitsu says to Skipper, having done a brief doubletake. "Nice to meetcha! I'm Minamitsu. Anyway," she finishes her sentence Riku-wards: "she's on vacation."

NAZRIN CAM:

Nazrin is laying motionless on a beach, under an umbrella. There is a straw in her mouth leading into a pitcher-sized carafe of colorful vacation juice. The level in the carafe is slowly, slowly descending.

Nazrin also has sunglasses on.

BACK HERE:

"Oh, Kukuru! It's been a long time," Ichirin comments to the horned and leisurely healer. "I hope you've been well... ... where's the napping spot?" She cranes her head to look.

After the walk up and the formal introduction...

Minamitsu is nodding along, her arms folded boldly before her. "Geez... that's cutting it close. We brought a couple of gems if you're short on money! Or we could help if you just need stuff cleared out." Ichirin paps one fist into an opposing palm, by way of agreement.

Ichirin speaks up about the rest. "That's so considerate of you... Hmm." At the question, she looks at Unzan, who turns his sunglass'd face-equivalent away slightly. Ichirin then says, "Unzan is very shy and has, what is the word, anxiety. If he stays close to me, everything should be fine, but if you know ways to help with anxiety, we would love to know about them. Of course..." ... he's a cloud.

"I didn't want to interrupt while you were being hugged, but your hairstyle's lovely," Ichirin remarks to Netzach, looking up towards them. "Is there a name for it...?" (None of these fools are very tall.)
Lilian Rook     Lilian Rook, of all people, is a bit of a surprise to see here. Given her inexplicable towards attitude towards Holly on the radio, and the fact that she's still on honeymoon for a couple more days, this seems like an unlikely place for her to be. Hoping for an interesting reason is pointless, however; the reality is that she promised she would check the place out before it was scheduled, and that stopping by here for a couple of hours doesn't make a dent in her schedule anyways, since she was already supposed to go out shopping for the evening while Tamamo rests after the two of them had taken up James Bond's offer to spend a few days in a little place in Vienna.

    That means that even her Inexplicable Attitude Towards Holly(tm) can't make this a bad time, though! Despite having done practically everything in advance of settling in at the second location herself, Lilian is still brimming with energy! Everything is perfect, after all!

    Fresh off checking out the route to the Danube for late evening tourism later, she's still in her Viennese street fashion, which makes her considerably more understated in her dress than Holly, or really most Elites, unless you can guess a price tag at a glance. Given the extreme humidity, it isn't long before she peels off the white button-up coat and tosses it to Petra along, folds her sunglasses up into her bag, and even begins thinking hard about her fluffy pastel cable-knit sweater, but it's hardly as if her heels are going to have any trouble, so she--

    'Hello, hi! I'm SO glad you made it, I was so worried!'

    --swerves wide around Holly the moment she gets close and keeps walking the garden path beyond. Father Lucius struggled to hug this girl unprompted. Don't think too hard. She says "Pleasure to meet you, Doctor Asturias." without much hesitation, and even adds "Dame Commander Lilian Rook. You don't have to use the full thing, but some of your new allies do, so I'll save you the conclusion." just to be polite; which she didn't on the radio, actually. Resting her chin between her thumb and finger, Lilian tilts her head at the mansion, looks back at Petra, and says, "Definitely French high gothic." with a conclusive little note of satisfaction.

    'It's... big. Bigger than any single building I've ever seen, much less been in.'

    "It's a hospital. They're always like this." says Lilian, waving the idea off at the wrist.

    'Curing the Horrors... Ohhh. Has it ever been done before, or would this be breaking new flooring to get them cured of their Horror-y-ness?'

    "It sounds like the sort of thing no one's figured out yet, doesn't it? I'm certain you two will get along just fine."

    'Is- is there a way to be *absolutely sure* that we aren't carrying infections when we leave?'

    "I suppose you could quarantine for two weeks?"
Lilian Rook     'Oh yeah, you mentioned baths. Are they like hot springs or just really fancy communal baths?'

    Lilian snaps her fingers. Dramatically, too. "Now that's an important question!" As opposed to the Horror infection ones? "I can't spare all afternoon, but I'd be happy to scope them out." Is that a service? To whom? Well, no, that's probably obvious.

    "Oh, you wouldn't mind if I went and took a little medicine off your hands would you? Of course I'll pay for it. Whatever a whole crate costs, if I can walk out with it. I need to go shopping shortly, and it'd make my day a little quicker. No pressure of course!" says Lilian, in the exact same tone as asking about--

    'You got a gift shop? Maybe where you can get some sort of mascot stuffed animal?'

    "Which reminds me!" Lilian says, marching over to Roland-- and then Kukuru? "Thank you again for the lovely gifts; both of you!" Oh. Oh she's just radiating sunshine now. Okay.

    'Before we go inside, I must ask: does anyone here have particular allergies, strong psychological reactions to medical or medical-adjacent environments, special accessibility needs or considerations, or other pressing questions that should be addressed first?'

    "Not at all." Lilian lies as naturally as she breathes. With a smile, too.
Petra Soroka     Petra's goals today were simple. Firstly, it's only polite to meet a new Partner when they extend an invitation, and Petra isn't so busy that the social standards of the Concord can fall by the wayside. Secondly, Lilian said that she wanted to come along and spend time with Petra, and therefore it is her highest priority to make sure that this is a pleasant, enjoyable outing and that Lilian's every need is tended to. Lastly--

    Something is *so* fucking wrong here. Petra spent five minutes thinking about what Marx would say about vampires with her knowledge attained from one year of attending college, and this provided her the tools to unravel an unbelievably bleak picture of the Revenant's world just from Holly's passing remarks. Every single thing about the apocalypse that befell this world seems to benefit Revenants vastly more than humans, and the Horrors slot neatly into the position of being a third, lower class of entity that anyone in the hierarchy can be demoted to and then extracted from for the benefit of the Revenant ruling class. Transparently, Holly doesn't seem to be among them, due to her tendencies to be seemingly entirely friendless and isolated in her mansion. If Holly's research makes significant progress, then Petra is dead certain that she'll be murdered or worse.

    But also, it's a date! And so, despite her instincts either guiding her into crackpot conspiracy theorizing, or cutting investigative journalism, Petra is in a good mood as she bounds out of the warpgate and into the greenhouse. She also bounds directly into a hug from someone six inches taller than she'd prefer, and so even before registering who it is, there's a camera-shutter blink as Petra vanishes from between Holly's arms before they close around her, skittering backwards on one foot.

    Heart pounding like she walked through a door and narrowly avoided being impaled by a spear trap, Petra blinks and refocuses her vision while settling back down. Her eyes go up, to the golden halo, then down, to the cape and the boots, then rest at just about level to the golden ribcage push-up corset.

    "Oh hi. Er, hi! Petra," She points at herself, confirming what was probably already gathered from her voice. Today, she looks basically just like an average college student, with her CMU letterman jacket on for the slight chill, a semi-ironic graphic tee, the ornate compact mirror hanging from a cord around her neck, and a single raven feather clipped into her hair like an accessory.

"After all this is just a medical facility, not some grand city with sights to see!"

    Holly is someone that continuously prompts Petra's impulse to assess her character and genre. The nerves and unfamiliarity speak to a person who's focused on her work but pretty much blind to everything else, and isn't skilled with navigating the world at all like a normal person. The fucking *outfit*, on the other hand, is really intensely slutty and vampire-coded in a way that feels like playing up the aesthetic of the manor. It's not really like Petra knows her enough to trust how much of what she's said about her world reflects her true feelings.

    She tilts her head, choosing a neutrally informative route. "Medical stuff is actually a decently big focus for a lot of people. I can think of... a half-dozen off the top of my head, who have that as one of their highest priorities. It's not like this is a tour just to 'see sights', or whatever."
Petra Soroka "I am Director Holly Asturias, but you can also call me Doctor Holly, Doctor Asturias, Doctor, Holly, or... anything will do, truthfully."

    Despite having heard the name 'Holly' more times from her than in the context of Lilian, it still feels extremely weird that her name is Holly. Petra will not be calling her that. She's going to use 'Doctor Asturias', even though that clashes with Petra's vibe so badly to say.

"Most human patients we've hosted were here due to circumstances and not by choice, but I hope - we hope - with time we can change this."

    Petra makes a mental note to interrogate these humans who are here a little bit. She did tell Holly that she wants to ask her patients questions, so this shouldn't even be a surprise.

"I will do my very best to answer any questions you may have, whether they be about myself, this world, or its peoples."

    Petra raises her hand out of habit. "Hey, do you have, like, pictures of Horrors? Ideally even ones to contrast against who they came from? And when a Horror is causing problems in the area around here, do they just linger around until someone kills them, potentially becoming sort of permanent fixtures? Or are they usually short-lived?"

"We'll start with the main facility itself, and then we'll end with the baths."

    Oh my god. There *are* baths. They were mentioned before, but Petra forgot about them. But now, that's suddenly the most important part of the trip, because--

"Definitely French high gothic."

    Because now she's holding Lilian's coat, folded neatly in her arms as part of the automatic motion of catching it, cozying up as close to shoulder-to-shoulder as she can get, and looking over the Sanatorium's facade as if *she's* the newlywed and she's touring for houses.

    "Oh, yeah, in person it's basically *screaming* it. I don't even need to be an expert to see it. I really like the big windows, actually? This really seems like the kind of place where natural light is kind of rare, but with *that* much window-space, it's gotta be pretty pleasant inside even when it's cloudy."

"I can't spare all afternoon, but I'd be happy to scope them out."

    "Yeah!!! For the sake of the tour." They're medical or something too, Holly said? More importantly, Petra would be willing to get into those hot springs with Lilian even if they were filled with bleach.

"We wouldn't want any of you to take home an infection and bring Horrors to your own slice of the Multiverse."

    Petra cups her cheek in her palm, looking around at the landscape curiously as if there might be a Horror just tottering around in sight. "We should test that. It's just by touch?"
Foundation Scions     It's unfortunate for Mesmer Jr. that she happens to be quite beholden to the orders of a long supernatural bloodline with the specific aims to quell and minimize the instability and threat posed by 'potentially dangerous' individuals through medical and psychiatric intervention. A vampire sanatorium is, nearly, the worst sort of sanatorium she can imagine- any sanatorium can be filled with blood-thirsty monsters, in Mesmer's eyes, but this one, it might actually have blood, and that's really gross!

    She wasn't told whether visiting, and reporting back, was for the sake of the Mesmer Group's awareness of cooperation angles, or whether any operational strategies are worth paying attention to, whether this is to rule out anything as a competitor in multiversal expansion, or, what's most likely, something just to punish Mesmer herself- but Mesmer has far too few qualms with making something that's her problem into something that's also someone else's problem. Tagging in the FDMO's other representative, is easy enough, for something that is, ostensibly, 'Multiversal Outreach', and deliberations still exist over how much the Foundation ought to hold back from interactions with the Concord and its partners, so it's perfectly justifiable for her to force Matilda along as well.

    It's definitely not just because Matilda is a rare peer to Mesmer, and, overall, harmless-seeming to her, itself even rarer. Don't think too hard. Mesmer certainly didn't.

. . .

"Sommes-nous toujours en Angleterre? Er- Mesmer, did we stay within-"
"I heard you, and, doubt it. This isn't earth." Mesmer's not confident that's true.
"But, the weather, it is exactly the same! Cloudy, wet-feeling, so, so very..."
"The weather's fine. It's bright enough out."
"Er," A sigh, "Is, something the matter? You have been upset-sounding for-"

    Mesmer is spared from responding to Matilda by Holly's immediate greeting; the bubbly-ness of which gets Matilda to stand in squeaky-stunned silence for a moment, and Mesmer to backstep, defensive- that tends to ward anything like a surprise greeting-hug from a stranger better than a 'don't touch me' could.

    Then, like it's a robotic necessity, Mesmer clears her throat, crosses her arms (to avoid having to shake hands), and states, "You're the head clinician to this organization? Doctor Asturias?" Who is this? Holly's never met Mesmer! Huh? "Well, no matter. I'm here as representative to the Mesmer bloodline, and the Mesmer Group; psychiatric expertise apparent through both. There's no personal agenda to my presence here; I'll be keeping notes." Can that actually count as an introduction, if she doesn't even say a name? Matilda awkwardly hovers around Mesmer, wondering if she'll be introduced, but when she clears her throat to do it herself, Mesmer puts an arm on her shoulder to quiet her up.

'I will make sure to answer all of your questions and show you all there is to see!'

    Raising her hand, Matilda nearly hops to say, "I, I have one! What did this building used-to be..? With grounds such as these, and its construction, was it some autumn-home of, an aristocratic family..? Or, er, something educational..?" It's a little bit spooky! "I, wonder as to who these statues are of?"

    Nose-bridge pinched, "Matilda." "Hein-?" "This isn't a field trip. Ask questions that are relavent to medicine, ethics- anything rationally productive. None of that matters." "-But, those are the questions I have..?"

'Dame Commander Lilian Rook.'

    "Oh. You're here as a patient, I presume?" Mesmer mutters, nearly under-breath, to a very upset glare from Matilda.
Foundation Scions 'Perhaps word got around after the initial offer? I couldn't say.'

    Sighed, without proper context, "Enough word that I was sent, apparently. Not that I had any opportunity to hear firsthand." Sometimes girls have to be leaky.

'At the moment, the Sanatorium is staffed by fifteen... fourteen, of us, including myself.'

    Matilda pipes up, at the same time as Mesmer- "Hein? Why the uncertainty..?" "That many, for so few patients? Is that including, or excluding, security efforts?" Somehow, both of their responses make the other look over with confused discomfort.

'If you'd like to enjoy their warmth, towels and a changing area will be provided, as well as food and drinks -'

    "Excuse me. Was it in error that this facility is referred to as a Sanatorium? You're describing the environs of a luxury hotel, not a space for safekeeping and the neutralization of the threat posed by instability in individuals." Holly just described how it is actually useful! Quieter, "Intravenous saline, spray-cannisters, cotton swabbing, there's options other than a strange facsimile, I'm certain." Why? When others take that offer seriously, Mesmer shifts from annoyed-confused looking, to just downright grossed-out.

'Before we go inside, I must ask: does anyone here have particular allergies, strong psychological reactions to medical or medical-adjacent environments,'

    Mesmer Jr., now holding onto a pad of note-paper, laughs.
Angela ''Your hairstyle's lovely.''

"Oh hey," Netzach tells Ichirin. "Thanks for noticing. I don't do a ton of work but I was getting tied of just letting it all hang straight." They quirk their head, blinking slowly at her. "Wait... aren't you that girl who was working with us for a while? Did you get the thing you wanted and everything?"

Roland is a little relieved to see the Lilian Hug-Swerve Dodge. He would've felt like such a dick if he was the only one. Truly, Lilian is a trailblazer.

Speaking of...

''Thank you again for the lovely gifts, both of you!''

Roland smiles, "Oh, you liked them? I'm glad--I was worried it wouldn't be too exciting, but I heard a while back it's sort of the tradition to give useful gifts--like the plates, or sheets, silverware--those sorts of things--for a newly wed couple." He manages a smile. "Surprised you dropped by, figured you were still on honeymoon."

''Oh. You're here as a patient, I presume?''

"Oh man, is that THE Mesmer?" Netzach asks rhetorically as Roland is grateful for yet another hug dodge. "Nah, she's--" Netzach is about to say why Lilian is here but they realize they don't actually have an answer for that. They blink a few times as their mind catches up to their mouth and they look back to Lilian. "Actually, no clue why you're here. But I'm still pretty sure it's not to be a patient..."

''CMU jacket.''

Roland notices Petra's CMU jacket and wonders aloud before he can stop himself. "Hey Petra, are you here as part of your studies...?" Of course, she could just be wearing the jacket.
Riku Asakura 'Hi Riku!'

Riku waves to Minamitsu, and likewise does the Don Shine pose.  He smiles brightly at her, glad for another familiar face in the crowd.  "Don't worry about it, just let me know when you need me.  I'll be there!" he says brightly towards Minamitsu.  "Give my hellos to Shou and Nazrin!" Riku says to her, still smiling.

'Kukuru'

"Ms. Kukuru!  It's been a while.  I'm glad to see you're here and doing well!" he says. The last time he saw her was at the end of L-corp's fall, and things were... crazy.  

'Roland and Netzach'

Well, more Roland.  Riku notices Roland's discomfort.  He waves to the older man and moves to get closer to him.  "Is everything alright?" he asks, trying to gauge if this is a problem or if something happened at the Library.  

He also gives a small wave to Lissandra, whom he doesn't know super well yet.  She is, after all, a fellow Paladin.  That and a doctor, so it would be super rude not to at least greet them when running into each other!  This is also when Lilian shows up, all smiles and radiance.  It seems the honeymoon is going well!

"Nice to see you, Mrs. Rook!  How are things going?" he asks, smiling at her and glad she's having a wonderful time with her wife!  

He likewise gives Petra a smile and a wave.  He's not entirely sure about Petra yet, given her desire to be a supervillain, but she does so much good wherever she goes, it's hard to really consider her a villain.  It's confusing because what she says and what she does seem to be at odds.

He also waves to Skipper, who seems to be a nervous mouse-person as always.  Their desire to be a hero versus all of these things that make them nervous is going to make it a long road for the little person to get going.  Still, he's rooting for them.  

With Mesmer Jr and Matilda arriving, he waves to both but looks a touch warmer towards Matilda, who he knows better.  He looks wary at Mesmer Jr., who everyone seems to have a dislike for, and is starting to see why with how she treats Matilda right off the bat.  Also, her under-breath comment about Lilian.  It causes him to cross his arms and stare at her for a moment.  

"I think her question about the grounds is fully warranted.  This place is historic." Also spooky.
Lilian Rook     'I really like the big windows, actually? This really seems like the kind of place where natural light is kind of rare, but with *that* much window-space, it's gotta be pretty pleasant inside even when it's cloudy.'

    "Oh absolutely. The window situation back home is fine, but the design I went with for Glascail is so much nicer." Lilian enthusiastically chatters on."The issue is that great big rock face at the west. After two o'clock, it'll get awfully dark inside either way; up at this elevation, it's early morning and early bed. I suppose small aesthetic sacrifices are inevitable in the pursuit of defensibility, though." Lilian remains oblivious to Petra's frankly unwholesome level of enthusiasm because she is having such a good week and all of her meters are fully charged.

    'Sommes-nous toujours en Angleterre? Er- Mesmer, did we stay within-'

    "Matilda!" A second short blonde has appeared. This one Lilian hasn't seen in several days and thus she has to get her frighteningly strong hands on her for a hug around the shoulders, which isn't nearly so smothering and yet also lifts her off her feet before plopping her back down. "Thank you so much for making the time!" Lilian beams.

    'Oh. You're here as a patient, I presume?'

    Lilian, on honeymoon, is now forced to perceive Mesmer. Mesmer Junior is here on what's supposed to be a cute little trip that's practically a date that's going to wrap up with a soak in a hotspring before heading back to her wife in Vienna. Mesmer Junior is even slamming one of the three separate buttons that makes Lilian irrationally upset, even when it's a lame attempt at a jab.

    "Hm? No, I don't have time for that." says Lilian. "I'm just keeping a little promise is all."

    Looking between Holly and Mesmer very thoughtfully, Lilian makes a pensive noise, then gestures to the former, so she can get close to her from the side and quietly say "Mesmer Junior has a severe phobia of blood, so it'd be helpful if you could steer clear of any." so that it's not being theatrically broadcast to the whole schoolbus.

    'Intravenous saline, spray-cannisters, cotton swabbing, there's options other than a strange facsimile, I'm certain.'

    "It's perfectly fine if you don't have an interest." Lilian says, then glazing right over to look at Matilda. "But since you've come all this way, Matilda, you have to stick around so I can show you how to get the proper spa treatment!"
Skipper > ""What's your favorite food to eat? Aaand flavor?"

    "Oh hi there... could I get your contact information so I can introduce you to someone I know later? She's been looking for a... food tour guide?"

> "I suppose you could quarantine for two weeks?"

    Skipper takes this at face value. "Wouldn't that be really inconvenient, though? Having to wait for two weeks every time we leave...?"
Lilian Rook     'Wouldn't that be really inconvenient, though? Having to wait for two weeks every time we leave...?'

    "How often are you planning to show up?" Lilian says, apparently genuinely curious. "If you follow all the health guidelines and don't touch everything, you'll be fine. You're already doing something far more dangerous than just touring a little clinic."
Holly Asturias "Oh yeah, you mentioned baths."
"Now that's an important question!"

    "Both! I have not the slightest clue where the volcano is, but a few of the pools are heated naturally. A few of the others were built, to act as regular baths as well. Not everyone enjoys the heat, especially when sick!"

"Though, should I wear a mask?"

    "We have masks next to the door, as well as disinfectant. Most of the staff stays masked as a precaution but, we take good care to keep the environment clean. There's very little risk."

"being half Ultraman,"

    "What a strange name! In what ways are you more 'ultra' than a regular man, if that isn't a faux pas to ask?"

"I'd be glad to help of course, if you'd have me?"

    "I will be happy to have all who offer. We're in no position to refuse any help, after all." It might also be notable that being small and fuzzy means Skipper received more than their fair share of the CRUSHING HUGS. Terrible, truly!

"Is- is there a way to be *absolutely sure* that we aren't carrying infections when we leave?"

    "It's really quite unlikely, but I'll be happy to closely inspect anyone who feels concern for such with my Formae. My family's arts excel at diagnosis, not just treatment."

"Grand Dorado's just a gate away."

    Holly gives the most enthusiastic nod she can to Kukuru. "That place is *stunning*! I simply could not believe such a place even existed! It makes me wish I could have seen the heights of human and Revenant society, before the Collapse - before the Resurgence."

"What's your favorite food to eat? Aaand flavor?"

    "Roasted mushrooms! Nothing spurs me on like finding the right mushrooms, then frying them in oil, with thyme and garlic and..." Oh no you have to stop her or this WILL go on forever.

"Has it ever been done before, or would this be breaking new flooring to get them cured of their Horror-y-ness?"

    "Never. Even the Progenitors were stumped for answers. In the end, they settled for the Sealing Spire." She gestures towards the ominous spire and its light. "Not a solution. Just a stopgap. Though its seal has kept the Resurgence at bay, it hasn't totally stopped the spread of Horrors, and its seal has required... countless Revenant sacrifices in the last century to keep intact. I'm afraid that's the extent of what I know on that."

"Did you lose someone?"
"Hein? Why the uncertainty..?"

    Holly's mood sours, just a bit. She's easy to read. "... yes. My father. Some few months ago now, he began transforming into a Horror. I've managed to stabilize him, but he's been in a coma ever since. There are... occasional seizures, but no signs it will ever improve. We're racing against the clock now. If I don't make a breakthrough..." She shakes her head. "Regardless. We will make do for now."

"You got a gift shop?"

    "I'm afraid not."

"Grew up raised around all that stuff,"

    "Oh? Was it a place like this, or something different? Thee must be all sorts of medical facilities out there, I can't imagine they're all like this."

"Yes, yes, settle down..! Off! Goodness..."

    "Ahahaha... my apologies, Doctor Lissandra. No, no, I don't need a moment at all! I fear a moment might make me slow down, and we simply can't have that right now!"
Holly Asturias "On the matter of that power of yours, how much would you be willing to share about its functions and limitations? Not necessarily immediately, but at some point I would like to familiarize myself in the event we collaborate in the future."

    "My bloodline would surely insist that I keep it a closely guarded secret. In the interest of partnership, I'll share all I can. I consider the goal more important than upholding some ancient, secretive tradition meant to keep us 'relevant'."

"If you intend on showing us a coldroom though,"

    "Oh! There *is* one, but it isn't too bad. We won't stay there long."

"Good evening to you, madame; I am Ichirin Kumoi, and this is my friend and comrade Minamitsu, and this is my *dearest* friend Unzan."

    "It's a pleasure to meet all three of you! How energetic! Oh, I could not be more thrilled with this turnout. To answer your question, no, it's just like this a lot. The forest is frequently foggy like this. We do get sun too, sometimes, don't worry."

"We brought a couple of gems if you're short on money! Or we could help if you just need stuff cleared out."

    "How kind of you! Thankfully, we're in a much better position now, but help 'clearing out' would be... a number of nearby villages have been overrun with Horrors, recently. Reclaiming them so that we can return people to their homes would be fantastic. We'll make plans when we can."

"Dame Commander Lilian Rook. You don't have to use the full thing, but some of your new allies do, so I'll save you the conclusion."

    Denied her hug, Holly simply giggles, nodding and excited nonetheless. "As I recall you're not too fond of 'Doctor Rook'. I'll be happy to simply call you Lilian, if that's not too presumptuous. Actually... I heard about your wedding! My sincere congratulations. I prepared a gift, it's not much, but I'll go get it when we end the tour."

"Oh, you wouldn't mind if I went and took a little medicine off your hands would you? Of course I'll pay for it."

    "Do you have a particular need, or just 'a crate of whatever is lying around'? If you're paying, it wouldn't be a problem to part with some, since I can restock later."

"Oh hi. Er, hi! Petra,"

    A hug twice denied... "Oh, Petra! I apologize, if I'd known you weren't comfortable with contact I would have refrained." Whatever she did to get out of her grasp was definitely... well it wasn't just 'stepping aside'. Was that a Forma?

"Hey, do you have, like, pictures of Horrors? Ideally even ones to contrast against who they came from? And when a Horror is causing problems in the area around here, do they just linger around until someone kills them, potentially becoming sort of permanent fixtures? Or are they usually short-lived?"

    "Pictures, body parts and other assorted samples, though I don't have any 'before and after' shots quite like what you describe. In a lot of cases, a Horror's original form isn't too hard to extrapolate. As for how long they remain a problem... Horrors do tend to travel, though it isn't something as complex as, say, migration patterns. They do remain a problem until killed, though weaker Horrors will deteriorate if they can't feed, much like Revenants."
Holly Asturias "We should test that. It's just by touch?"

    "It's unpredictable, I'm afraid. Some Horrors don't spread the blight at all. Others by touch. And the worst of them, the largest, cause Resurgence-like events. The last thing you will see is a bright flash of white and gold when they turn, and then... you are one, too. Those are exceptionally rare, but such an event struck the large city to the south some decades ago. I'm told it's nothing but ruins now. Like a bomb went off." The immediate area is quite clear. Petra will have to wait another time before tempting the zombie apocalypse.

"You're the head clinician to this organization? Doctor Asturias?"

    Three in a row... Holly adjusts her expectations, her warm greetings perhaps not quite as warm or greetful as she'd thought. What did she do wrong? She'll have to ask the staff later.

    "The Mesmer bloodline? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar. Is that a new minor house...?" She squints, looking at Mesmer from head to toe. She doesn't seem to be a Revenant, lacking the teeth or the eyes, or the propensity for gold. A human bloodline? They have those? Don't they just call them 'families'? "Well, by all means! If there is anything that might help you with your notes, don't hesitate."

"I, I have one! What did this building used-to be..?

    "I'm not *completely* sure what my bloodline used this place for, before it was the Sanatorium. I presume just a mansion, given some of the furniture that's still inside. You're correct about the aristocratic part. The Luxuria bloodline is one of the seven cardinal houses. This... matters a lot less now than it used to, with our population so diminished, but Revenant society was, and sometimes still is, quite focused on such things."

"Oh. You're here as a patient, I presume?"

    Holly looks behind Mesmer and Lilian, blinking. "Oh no! Is she sick? I'm sure I could make time to look over here, if it's needed...?"

"That many, for so few patients? Is that including, or excluding, security efforts?"

    "Not everyone here is a physician, or at least, not everyone is solely dedicated to that. Security is a concern, one I see to myself as often as possible. There's cooking, cleaning, occasionally having to travel to pick up deliveries. And if there's more quiet periods, we focus on research rather than treatment."

"Intravenous saline, spray-cannisters, cotton swabbing, there's options other than a strange facsimile, I'm certain."

    "In most cases, we can administer drugs to handle regular issues. A lot of a Revenant's woes ultimately flow through their heart; medication that alters blood flow, consistency, heartbeat, blood pressure and other closely tied factors can do *wonders*. But for something like the corruption caused by Horrors... I'm afraid only my Formae cut it. Applying the basic ones to our baths means that patients can 'treat themselves', at least, for their basic needs. I must make manual adjustments for each patient, for more serious cases."
Petra Soroka "Is- is there a way to be *absolutely sure* that we aren't carrying infections when we leave?"

    Petra warily watches Skipper, because the word 'infections' sounds *so* different when coming out of the mouth of a mouse. "... Actually, do you know what *rabies* is?" Not that Petra needs to be worried about that! She's vaccinated!

"Oh. You're here as a patient, I presume?"

    "Why-!" Petra's sheer, disbelieving indignation causes her to wheel around and point and stammer, with a decidedly Matilda-esque squeak in her voice. It shifts into anger soon enough, though. "Why are *you* here?! This is literally your worst nightmare!"

    Because it's a blood-drinking vampire medical facility for insanity and monsters, and also, because Mesmer has such an *inerring* intuition for showing up whenever Petra's trying to spend time around Lilian. "Go on. Go home. *You* don't want to be at the *Sanatorium*. I know you don't."

"I, I have one! What did this building used-to be..?"

    Actually, Matilda really is a kindred spirit to Petra here. As long as she can put Mesmer out of mind, Petra is brimming with interrogative excitement and simple bouncy curiosity and explorative instinct, and if she bounces off Matilda like this, then they might collectively drown Holly in an endless stream of questions.

    "Right! Actually! You mentioned the *bloodline*-- it's got a different name from yours? What's up with that? Does a 'bloodline' just refer to heritage, or is it typically, like, something more organized? You've implied before that there's a pretty significant political element to it, but you're *also* pretty unfamiliar-- er, distanced, from most of the rest of society, because of your work. Also, if this is a historically-relevant medical site-- was the guy who cured Revenants' sunlight vulnerability also part of the same bloodline? Or am I just putting the two things I know about together?"

"Hey Petra, are you here as part of your studies...?"

    "What?" Petra looks vaguely baffled at Roland. "No? Huh? Did you forget I'm a Concord Partner? I'm literally your boss."
Holly Asturias     Holly, finally, leads you all inside-- masks are available! The Sanatorium's lobby is well-lit, and looks a little bit more like a hotel's lobby than any kind of clinic or hospital. Nice black and white ceramic floors, a construction that mostly seems to be white shades of marble, lamps and wall-lamps supplying bright white electric lighting. The old reception desk, with its wooden brown and red, looks a lot more like what things here *should* be like to match the exterior. Stairs lead both up and down to the side, a poorly lit hallway leads into the back of the manor, and one last hallway, well lit and white, leads to a series of little offices and rooms.

    You're greeted almost on-entry by two staff members wearing blue scrubs and medical masks. Both of unremarkable build and height, MILLY, with her neck-length brown hair, and MANU, with her black hair in a ponytail, are both very likely Revenants, considering the blood red eyes that match Holly's so perfectly.

    "Welcome back, Doctor. Are these the guests?" Milly asks.
    "Quite so! Everyone, this is Milly, and the quiet one is Manu. Milly is my closest assistant, and Manu helps with research more than patient care."
    "..." Manu lifts a hand to wave, silent.
    "She's not mute, just shy," Holly smiles.
    Manu averts her gaze.
    "Now! Where is Nicole? I was hoping she'd be available."
    "She's prepping the drinks and snacks, she'll be out by the baths," Milly answers.
    "Wonderful, you'll all get to meet her later then. Now, this way!"

    Holly turns left, towards the offices. The side-rooms are small, clearly examination rooms. They've got the bare minimum you'd expect in each; big chair, a few vitals monitors, computers, spare gloves and masks and all sorts of anatomy posters including eye exam sheets. The room Holly heads in is larger, and reads more like her personal office. It's got all the exam room bells and whistles, but a larger desk, a few more doodads and machines... and a private elevator? It's all very early-21st century. There's a couple of couches in a corner, and plenty of chairs here and there.

    There's also a photo on the desk, torn to hide the face of the man in it. Seemingly a picture of Holly, age 10, and her mother. She does not address its presence at all.

    "This is my office, and the main exam room. We also passed a few smaller ones! Now, let me give you an overview of what it is we do here at the Sanatorium. The Sanatorium offers care, both short-term and long-term, to Revenants and humans alike. Injuries sustained in battle are common, but my area of expertise is the corruption that spreads from prolonged exposure to Horrors. Left untreated, this corruption creeps through any and all matter, slowly warping subjects - plants - animals - even objects - into monsters we call Horrors. Over time, this causes a complete dissolution of personality, loss of sanity, and ultimately, berserk rampages."

    Holly gives a sad sigh.

    "So far, I have only managed to develop treatments that can slow the spread of the malady, but not reverse its course. For most, this is enough to buy several years of life, with weekly treatments. It's... better than nothing, but not where I'd like it to be yet."

    She moves towards her desk, to fish for a badge in a drawer. It's a round silver badge, with accented cardinals and intercardinals like a compass, and a golden heart in the center.

    "This badge entitles me to resources and supplies from the Bureau, to be used for this place. Sadly, their ability to supply even this facility has been harmed by the increase in Horror activity. It's made research harder, among other things."
Kukuru "hot springs or just really fancy communal baths?"

"He-llo, Rikuuuu~ Oh, is there a difference?" Kukuru asks in a moment of genuine confusion, already halfway towards realizing the answer by the time she finishes saying that. "Oh, you mean like aaaa... Big hot tub? Or a jacuuuuzzi?"

That certainly seems to get Kukuru's attention enough to listen in for the answer closely.

It's... big.

Blinking slowly at Skipper's size compared to everyone and everythnig else here, Kukuru leans over a bit to look them over before beaming a smile. "Is it? Oh, you're in for a treat if you ever see the suuuper big places. Just imagine all the places you could nap on...!"

"some sort of mascot stuffed animal?"

Netzach's question, too, gets Kukuru paying closer attention. "Oh, that could make for good gifts to stock up on... I've even got extra spending money after making aaaall those returns."

"I may need to throw on another layer."

Lissandra's comment about the cold has Kukuru locking onto her within the same second, already  squinting a little to try and eyeball what size clothes she wears. It probably doesn't matter too much either way, though, as she's already halfway through pulling a slightly worn button-up sweater out of her pocket before remembering to actually ask: "Do you need something warmer, dear?"

"where's the napping spot?"

"He-llo, Ichiriiiin... Hehe, it really has. Mhm, mhm, I'm okay! I hope you and others are all doing okay, too~" Kukuru replies with a gentle laugh, lighting up a little at the question. She points right at the center of the Sanatorium, then draws a finger up towards the uneven chunk at the top center of it all. "Riiight up there. That little part on the right that's got a little gap between the parts going up? It'd be real easy to wedge right in between there and then curl up in a blanket, you knooow?"

"Thank you again for the lovely gifts; both of you!"

"Hehe... You're welcome!" Kukuru chimes back at Lilian, returning her sunshine with a beaming smile of her own that's also just a little wibbly at seeing her expression. "I'm so glad you like it... I thought about doing one with sleeves like the last time, but then I thought you might want something comfy for your bed, too. Or if you ever go on a picnic, or want to dress up a mantle for a while, or just huddle up on the roof." She suggests, humming pleasantly and just a little drowsily for a moment before giving Lilian a more curious look.

"Are you and Tamamo already back from your honeymoon? It felt like you just got married yesterday..." She murmurs, thinking for exactly two seconds before going back into that dopey smile again from remembering the ceremony.

Petra's tee

Kukuru visibly tilts forward as she reads Petra's shirt, stroking her chin for a moment before smiling brightly at Petra. "I'm proud of you, dear. You've got this." She asserts, giving her a firm thumbs up of encouragement. It seems she's taken the message quite seriously!

"None of that matters." "-But, those are the questions I have..?"

"My, you're really dedicated to working hard, aren't you?" Kukuru comments with a slightly awed noise at Mesmer, giggling after a moment as she glances between her and Matilda's unfamiliar faces. "It's not a bad thing to be curious about new places, but I can tell you care a bunch about helping Doctor Holly here. Just don't be too hard on yourself or your friend, okaaay?"

"You're here as a patient, I presume?"

"Lilian's here to help, dear. She's suuuper involved in lots of stuff all over." Kukuru helpfully explains, somehow completely unaware of any of their conversations.

"Mesmer Junior has a severe phobia of blood"

Lilian's comment, meanwhile, is taken straight by Kukuru, and she nods rapidly while taking out a smart phone and pecking away at the screen on a notepad app.
Riku Asakura 'Both!'

"Oooooh nice," Riku says. He so very rarely gets to enjoy natural hot springs, so he's excited to get another chance to get at some. On top of that, there are regular fancy baths, and it's a good chance to get really super clean!

'We have masks next to the door, as well as disinfectant.'

"Oh, that's good, I'm happy to hear that.  I'll forgo the mask then.  I was just worried that we might bring something in."

'What a strange name!'

"Well, it's because Ultramen are a type of alien.  They can grow very tall and do a whole lot of different things.  I'm only half Ultraman, so I can appear as a human all the time, but have access to my Ultraman half through the use of devices."

'Formae'

"I heard this term before, but can you explain what a Formae is?"

'... yes. My father.'

Riku's face drops from his smile to a deep frown.  Her father had started turning into a horror.  It makes sense why she's so eager to cure Horrors, but with her father in a coma, this seems like it's only holding back the hands of time.  Still, they have to do everything they can for him!  "Well, we'll help anyway we can, Doctor Holly!"

Inside the facility, the place is even more well-decorated than he assumed from the outside.  He looks bright-eyed and amazed at the layout, almost afraid to even walk inside because of how fancy everything looks.  It's very much like a hotel rather than a sanatorium.  

'Milly and Manu'

Riku waves to both Milly and Manu.  "Hello, nice to meet you.  I'm Riku Asakura.  It's a pleasure to get a tour of this facility!" he says brightly, despite how out of place he feels in this place.  

Moving on, it looks like how a hospital should be with the supplies and equipment.  This is normal, but it still feels like he's walking on glass because he feels that if he touches anything, they won't be able to use it without hours of disinfecting.  So he's careful not to touch anything he's not supposed to.  

'It's made research harder, among other things.'

"Is there anything we can do to help?"
Skipper > "You're already doing something far more dangerous than just touring a little clinic."

    "I just - don't need *more* monsters? That are *my* fault if they reach my world? There's enough going on as it is?"

> "That place is *stunning*!"
> "Is it? Oh, you're in for a treat if you ever see the suuuper big places."

    Something to add to the to-see list!

> Roasted mushrooms!

    "They're really good grilled too!"

> "... Actually, do you know what *rabies* is?"

    "I've learned what rabies is," says Skipper, politely.

> "Riiight up there. That little part on the right that's got a little gap between the parts going up? It'd be real easy to wedge right in between there and then curl up in a blanket, you knooow?"

    "..."

"... Actually that... sounds pretty good..."

> "She's not mute, just shy,"

    Manu gets a sympathetic wave.

"... yes. My father."

    "... Oh..."

    Skipper glances away.

    "Yes of course we'll help, nobody deserves to lose a loved one... was he - I mean, what was he trying to do when it started?"
Lilian Rook     'Both! I have not the slightest clue where the volcano is, but a few of the pools are heated naturally.'

    Lilian secures eye contact with Petra instantly. "Hot spring. You, me, Matilda. Girl talk. Secrets. Drinks. You have the time, right?"

    'Nothing spurs me on like finding the right mushrooms, then frying them in oil, with thyme and garlic and...'

    "Oh? Whole? Or do you stuff them? I've never thought of mushrooms as much of a main feature, but I suppose I've never tried all that hard to find out."

    '... yes. My father. Some few months ago now, he began transforming into a Horror. I've managed to stabilize him, but he's been in a coma ever since.'

    "Oh my condolences." Clipped. Vague. Lilian's cheer quickly returns, because Holly finds the only button that penetrates Intrusion Immunity 3.

    'As I recall you're not too fond of 'Doctor Rook'. I'll be happy to simply call you Lilian, if that's not too presumptuous. Actually... I heard about your wedding!'

    "Oh it's not as if I hate it, but that just sounds like my mother, you know? And thank you very much~! I'd be more than happy to show it to Tamamo!" Even wearing heels, Lilian manages to bounce a little on the balls of her feet. There's a celebrity wedding and it's her inside of it! Maybe Holly can't have a hug, but Lilian does finally offer a handshake.

    'Do you have a particular need, or just 'a crate of whatever is lying around'?'

    "Oh goodness no!" Lilian throws up both hands and laughs. "I was just going to pop down to the pharmacy anyways, so you'll save me twenty minutes easily if I can nick something off the shelves! Just some providone-iodine, levonorgestrel, ideally quadriphasics but I'll settle, and if you have anything with beta-alanine I'll tak the chance to stock up. Drugstore stuff."

    '... Actually, do you know what *rabies* is?'

    "Oh be nice." Lilian laughs anyways. Being in a great mood doesn't make her more politically correct.

    'The Mesmer bloodline? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar. Is that a new minor house...?'

    "Oh they're actually quite famous. No need to worry." says Lilian. If she were asked why she's vouching for Mesmer Junior, she'd say that she's filling in a newly unified Elite, so they don't embarrass themselves later. That's all.

    'Oh no! Is she sick? I'm sure I could make time to look over here, if it's needed...?'

    Hm. That's kind of annoying. But Lilian's buffer of temporary HP can still push through after a quarter-second of pause. "Oh there's no need to worry; I'm in perfect health. She's just . . ." Lilian makes an exceptionally vague gesture with her hand as she tries to think of something convenient to say about Mesmer, then gives up.

    'Why are *you* here?! This is literally your worst nightmare!'

    "It's probably an order." Lilian says, waving to try and get Petra's attention back. "FDMO, LSCC, the Group; it is what it is." It's not as if she doesn't value Petra's snarling guard dog instincts, but right now she wants to see more of the Petra that was just having fun.
UFO Gang The two-or-three Buddhist weirdos blink at the discussion about infections, and both look at Lilian as she mentions quarantining for two weeks. There is a brief consultation between them. ("What's that mean?" "It's a way to make sure people haven't contracted a disease." "Why does it take two weeks?" "They have you stay somewhere in particular for two weeks, or a week, or however long it usually takes for the disease to arise." "So it's like a disease vacation." "No." "Hm.")

Ichirin then looks back at Netzach... slow blinks... and her eyes widen. "Oh! Oh goodness. Netzach, isn't it? Yes! Well. Um! We did, or at least we did get part of the way," Ichirin continues. "Our next step is about sixteen kilometers under the ocean, and we are working on that."

"Oh hi!! -- Nice to meetcha," Minamitsu chimes in, first to Netzach then to Roland, who seems unfamiliar even if he is similarly clad in stylishly rumpled office wear. Back to Netzach: "The hair really does work for you better this way. Is it easy to do?"

But Minamitsu addresses Riku. "Totally. We've been trying to get cameras down there, or something, because it'd be really irresponsible of us to just ask you guys to come down without knowing what's down there."

"We do know there's a sea floor down there," Ichirin says. "And we only completely lost a few of the cameras." The further elaboration of this adventure in oceanography for idiots is left in the air as other topics come up. Despite looking like a priestess of some kind, Ichirin's response to 'we'll tag you when it's time to clear a village' is an enthusiastic thumbs-up and :D face.

Ichirin does pause as she shades her eyes and looks up. Kukuru can also see Unzan's face peek out of his cloud-front for a moment, the implausibly-wrathful-old-man face peeping with the sunglasses sitting on his chin. "..." says the cloud. "You're *right*" says Ichirin.

toddle toddle toddle

The girls give their own introductions to Milly and Manu, although Ichirin looks Manu in the eyes for several long moments. A certain connection...? Maybe she's just wondering about the eyes, now that she's seen them on several people. (It's definitely the eyes. Manu may have have a feeling of being sympathized-with... at least, in passing.)

Walking past the exam rooms, Minamitsu peeks into about half of them. Ichirin takes a glance in one, but perhaps this satisfies her 'actual' need, as it were, without giving in to a desire to stare at more things or look for hidden treasure.

At the end of the road, as it were, Holly tells more of her battle.

"Anyone who strives so hard against suffering will surely earn great merit and be rewarded," Ichirin says, her hands spreading apart. "I am with Mr. Asakura. If I can help, I will." The cloud grunts. Minamitsu looks sheepish, but gives a firm nod as if to say: me too.
Holly Asturias "Right! Actually! You mentioned the *bloodline*-- it's got a different name from yours? What's up with that?"

    "Oddly, the cardinal bloodlines were named after the seven sins, and the minor ones, after the seven virtues, rather than after any given name. I *believe* the intent was to preserve the original identity of the bloodline through countless generations. Even the great Idris Voda did not name his bloodline after himself, choosing instead 'Superbia'. Still, 'House Voda' and the Superbia bloodline are essentially synonyms." Holly pauses for a moment, to ponder that herself. "... if you find out more, I would love to know."

"Does a 'bloodline' just refer to heritage, or is it typically, like, something more organized?"

    "Both, but--"

"You've implied before that there's a pretty significant political element to it, but you're *also* pretty unfamiliar-- er, distanced, from most of the rest of society, because of your work."

    "Yes. That's because... while bloodlines are still regarded as a... quick evaluation of a Revenant's worth, the Resurgence did wipe out most of our population. Much like with humans. What used to be an organized society, is now scattered across the Frontier in small groups. There are no great cities left. Just... stray families, holding on to old values. I may not be well-traveled, but that much I know."

Also, if this is a historically-relevant medical site-- was the guy who cured Revenants' sunlight vulnerability also part of the same bloodline?

    "No, he was... ah, which was it... he was from a cardinal house, that much I recall. I can't recall what happened to him. I must have a book on the subject somewhere. May I get back to you on that?"

"Mesmer Junior has a severe phobia of blood, so it'd be helpful if you could steer clear of any."

    Holly looks at her hat. Rim? Headdress. She looks at the golden ribcage atop her dress. She awkwardly then says, "... I think it might be too late? I'll, ah, keep it in mind when I route us, though."
Angela ''Is everything alright?''

Roland briefly looks confused because Roland is basically never ''alright'' but he also isn't really sure what exactly Riku's talking about either. He thinks back to his actions since arriving and most of it seemed to be pretty normal to him? The only thing that comes to him is him dodging the hug but there have been at least THREE hug dodgers.

"I mean, is everything ever alright?" He asks back. "Got my ups and downs. A little uneasy, but that's pretty normal for a place like this, isn't it? I can't throw a knife into an illness, and someone's tried to get ahold of my delicious blood before." He makes a pair of fangs with his fingers on his right hand and wiggles them in a chomping gesture.

"If you get infected or something we'll just quarantine you into a book until we come up with something." Netzach offers, again as 'helpful' as can be.

"Cool. Great."

''If I don't make a breakthrough...''

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that..." Roland says sincerely if a bit distantly. It's not like he's ever known a dad himself. "Maybe with help from out there, you'll be able to find a solution."

''I'm afraid not.''

"Sucks." Netzach says, looking to Kukuru. "Sorry Kukuru, they don't even got stuffed animals here."

''I'm literally your boss.''

"I don't think I ''could'' forget that." Roland says as he collects a mask and puts it on his face. "You're wearing your jacket so I figured it was possible. Concord stuff makes sense."

''MILLY and MANU''

Netzach flinches a little at Milly but otherwise the two Librarians wave over to them and Roland even asks, "Nice to meet you both. How long have you worked here?")

And then more following along. And following. And looking around. Netzach seems at peace, if a little disinterested. Roland is more focused and has calmed down some as his Fixer instincts take over. "Slowing the spread itself is kind of a miracle isn't it...?" He murmurs.

'Our next step is about sixteen kilometers under the ocean.''

"You know, you could maybe get help with that, I know at least one person who could make that trip no problem--" Netzach supposes they shouldn't actually go and spill everything though. "If you want me to give them your contact information--but I'm not really sure what your goal even is, haha."
Lilian Rook     Once they're through the front door, Lilian takes a second to soak up the pristine architecture, old-fashioned in a completely different way from what she's used to, tug Petra by the arm to encourage her to look around, and then glance at the masks by the door. She makes a little 'oh' with her lips, then quickly unzips her bag and . . .

    Lilian puts on her own mask, and her own gloves, which she just had with her, apparently. Like, all the time. Hers are nicer.

    Despite coming here as a glorified social call, Lilian is actually interested in the medical facilities, once she sees them. She keeps an on-and-off flow of chatter going as she walks with the group, veering off slightly to peek inside rooms here and there. Things like "My my, you do eye exams? Are you able to machine eyeglasses here?" and "How often do people come here for minor complaints? There aren't a small number of clinic rooms, which aren't the stort of place you take someone for emergency combat surgery." and "Goodness I could swear this place used to be a hotel. I mean, with the hotspring and the lift?" come and go with time and progress.

    'For most, this is enough to buy several years of life, with weekly treatments. It's... better than nothing, but not where I'd like it to be yet.'

    "Every little bit counts." says Lilian. "I'm certain the patients aren't complaining about getting a few more years, now are they." She leans sideways to get a better glimpse of the picture frame.

    Â§Huh. I just burned all of those.§

    'This badge entitles me to resources and supplies from the Bureau, to be used for this place.'

    Lilian blinks. "Doctor Asturias, are you certain that's something you should be leaving in a drawer?"

    'Are you and Tamamo already back from your honeymoon? It felt like you just got married yesterday...'

    Lilian shakes her head. "Oh, we've just extended it a couple of days to accept an offer from an old friend. We spent the morning moving in to this lovely spot, so while Tamamo takes a load off, I'm popping out to handle a couple of little obligations. It just so happened to line up nicely." She smiles, even! "How did you know about the roof? I don't think I've ever mentioned stargazing around you." says Lilian, offhanded and unguarded. She nods along while Kukuru vouches for her.

    'I just - don't need *more* monsters? That are *my* fault if they reach my world? There's enough going on as it is?'

    "You'll learn to trust the doctor in time." Lilian says, vaguely. "Then you'll learn which ones to trust." She snickers at a private joke.

    '... I think it might be too late?'

    Lilian shakes her head. "Only the red stuff I think." She totally said that like 'only the good stuff'.
Kukuru "food tour guide?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course! Anyone that's interested in food has to be a good person." Kukuru asserts with a carefree smile to Skipper, slipping a business card out of her pocket and offering it. It's the fancy kind, printed on the good card stock specifically for Concord partners!

"That place is *stunning*!"

"Isn't it? So many great places to eat stuff, napping spots, stuff to buy, and they all take the card..." Kukuru replies to Holly in an almost sing-songy tone, pausing for a moment before clearing her throat. "Oh, but we should still be responsible with that." She adds to try and look a little more responsible, then taps her chin at Holly mentioning the Collapse and Resurgence.

"Then one day... After we figure out how to cure the Horrors and have everyone back together, we can help bring things back to those heights. We'll just have to work hard to get there." She asserts with an easygoing chuckle and open-mouth yawn.

"thyme and garlic and..."
"They're really good grilled too!"
"Whole? Or do you stuff them?"

"Oh, chili oil works great, too! Pesto's a nice flavor, too, oooor... Oh, oh! If you have the little sardines to fry them together so you have the little crispy bits... I never tried them stuffed yet, but that could be super good if it's anything like stuffed peppers. And grilling them until they're like little steaks..."

Unfortunately, Kukuru is not the one to put a stop to that kind of discussion.

"the Sealing Spire."

Following Holly's gesture towards the lit up spire, Kukuru is reminded that she kind of hated that thing just from first glance. "Ohhh... Hmm. Yeah, just putting it off for later's not really..." She starts, scrunching her face up before rubbing one of her horns idly. "A stopgap's fine for a while, but... Well. Now that we're here to help and you're with us, we can find a real fix for aaaall that."

"a bright flash of white and gold"

"We'll have to keep an eye an eye out for that, mhm." Kukuru closes one eye as she visualizes that, then the other a second later. "Even if it's sudden... We can still fix up what happens after, and we can beat up any Horrors that show up to keep the damage contained, right?"

"Everyone, this is Milly, and the quiet one is Manu."

Taking a mask for herself in the lobby, Kukuru has some visible trouble trying to get it to fit quite right with her lack of ears and presence of horns. "He-llo, Milly! He-llo, Manu! My name is Kukuru." She introduces herself without a hint of hesitation, only pausing that way she usually does in case anyone's writing or typing something. "That's Ku-ku-ru. It's wonderful to meet you all. I'll be helping Doctor Hoooo-lly with research and treatment whenever she calls for me, so we'll be seeing each other plenty, I bet~"

"Left untreated, this corruption"

A thought occurs to Kukuru, and her hand comes up surprisingly quickly compared to her usual languid movements. "Ohhh. Does cutting a corrupted part off stop it from spreading?" She asks while swiping her arm through the air to demonstrate something.
Kukuru "Sorry Kukuru, they don't even got stuffed animals here."

"Aw. Well, that's okay. Maybe someone at Grand Dorado will get an idea ooone of these days." Kukuru chuckles lightly at Netzach, hiding her disappointment somewhat at not having a new stocking stuffer to stock up on just yet.

"Oh, we've just extended it a couple of days to"

"Ooh... Ah, I like doing that with my vacations sometimes, too. Then it's like two vacations, but... Hehe. Two honeymoons sounds so romantic." Kukuru replies to Lilian with another easygoing laugh. "Do feel free to call if either of you need anything brought over real quick, okay?"

"How did you know about the roof? I don't think I've ever mentioned stargazing around you."

"Hmm? Doesn't everyone like napping on the roof?" Kukuru chuckles again as she glances back the way they had come from, then turns back to Lilian. "A beautiful view of the sky, a chilly breeze to make you wanna bundle up in a comfy warm blanket with your favorite people, little noises from stuff all the way on the ground..."
Foundation Scions 'Thank you so much for making the time!'

    Matilda, continues, to be squeaky when picked up and put back down, though she's also obviously pleased-excited (positive attention does this to her immediately every time). "Hein? Of course, Mrs. Rook! The most highly-esteemed Matilda Bouanich could have done nothing else, ah-hah..."

    Set back down, and steady-again on her feet, though ambiently dizzy, "I, er, was not told to expect that you would be here, though..? Is it, due to some follow-up with your own researching..? Ms. Mesmer Jr., she did say that there was something greatly to do with blood, about here?" Sighing, "She did not say much else."

'Why are *you* here?! This is literally your worst nightmare!'

    It is. Mesmer's already nauseous at the very idea of this place, though it's hardly being sped up by the, quite nice-seeming outside conditions. But Mesmer can't admit that, obviously, and it wouldn't matter if she could. "I'm sure you're familiar with the concepts of 'having a job to do'. I'm not here on any personal desire; but I won't be leaving, just because you've asked. Don't be ridiculous." She wants to leave so bad.

'The Mesmer bloodline?'

    "No, it isn't 'new', nor minor. The Mesmer bloodline is the arcanist lineage that fathered the modern psychiatric techniques of Animal Magnetism, indispensable in the management of hysteria and danger posed by other, unstable, and unmoderated arcanists." A sigh. It's annoying to Mesmer personally that no other world seems to view 'the Mesmers' as notable- it doesn't bode considering that if she ever had to run into off-world Mesmers of some sort, that would be deeply miserable.

'I presume just a mansion, given some of the furniture that's still inside. You're correct about the aristocratic part.'

    Matilda beams! She's de-fused by being told she's correct, enough to not press too-hard onto the lack of a definite answer. Yippee! Gold star for Matilda!

'Oh no! Is she sick? I'm sure I could make time to look over here, if it's needed...?'

    "Terribly, with exposure consequences on a cataclysmic scale. She's in dire need of treatment, monitoring, containment, and correctional therapy. Don't listen to any words she says, they're a manipulation tactic." Completely flat-tone, such that Matilda nervously adds, after, "Surely, she is joking, Doctor Asturias."

'It's perfectly fine if you don't have an interest.'

    "I'd prefer you didn't comment on that." Mesmer crosses her arms in front of herself, and half-turns away from Lilian. "Hot springs are a festering site for all manner of bacteria, and other harmful microbes, regardless. Some directly consume the brain, through proximal exposure- Naegleria fowleri, it's near-certain to be deadly within only a few days of exposure; if you aren't regularly testing for it, you're harboring a death-trap."

    "Er- in the nearly certain case that it is, likely *not* a death trap, that does sound most pleasant! I, would like to see it!"

'... Actually, do you know what *rabies* is?'

    Mesmer takes a good solid five steps further away from where Skipper is standing, as Petra asks this.

'Actually... I heard about your wedding!'
'Just some providone-iodine, levonorgestrel, ideally quadriphasics but I'll settle,'

    Lilian receives, at two different points in time, two completely alien, identical glances from Mesmer- both flat, both somehow completely neutral, "Oh? That's a surprise."
Foundation Scions . . .

    Inside, Mesmer does, immediately, put a mask on- and gloves, from her own pouches. Matilda nearly walks on by, before a throat-clear from Mesmer herds her into also wearing one- not well enough for a frustrated Mesmer to detach and re-attach, correctly looped around her ears, this time.

'Injuries sustained in battle are common, but my area of expertise is the corruption that spreads from prolonged exposure to Horrors.'

    "This is a clinic that treats violent injury, but it only possesses one examination room? Do you have anything of the likes of surgical care suites, or," A grimace-sigh, "Do you rely more heavily on nonmedical practices of healing?"

    Uncomfortable, and staying far from any of the walls, though, less distressed by the interior than she ought to be, "Dissolution of sanity, into violent berserk-states?" That annoys her, because it's Relevant. "What practices do you rely upon for treatment? If it's science-based medicine, I'm curious the development state you've reached; if it isn't, it's still productive to hear."

'It's... better than nothing, but not where I'd like it to be yet.'

    Matilda pipes up before Mesmer can- "That, is certainly not a small amount to return to those!" "It's not a large amount, either." "Mesmer..." "It isn't. You're low on supplies, to maintain research? Are you, also, going to start a blood drive to make-do?" HUH? Why's she so prickly! Mesmer takes a moment, and sighs.

    "What's the threshold in hysteria-prevention you're stopped at in your research?" Notepad back out, like she's, actually, trying to think through what might be useful for Holly to bring up in return- why, though?
Holly Asturias "Well, it's because Ultramen are a type of alien."

    "Aliens??? Like, from space???" Holly seems excited. She creeps closer to Riku, places her hands on his shoulders, leans down to get at eye-level, and squints. What is she trying to see? She's just curious. Don't worry.

    "It's fascinating how I can't tell. You *must* allow me to... study, no, that sounds wrong. Examine? Yes, examine you. Later. Please!"

"I heard this term before, but can you explain what a Formae is?"

    "Formae," Holly begins. "Singular Forma, refers to a Revenant's powers, abilities... and technology. It's quite a catch-all term. If I launch ice at you, that's a Forma. If I call my rifle, that too is a Forma. My medical techniques and tools? All Formae. I admit it is a little bit confusing, at first, but think of it as... 'blood arts', perhaps?"

"Well, we'll help anyway we can, Doctor Holly!"
"Oh my condolences."
"Maybe with help from out there, you'll be able to find a solution."

    "Don't," Holly responds, with a complete change in demeanor. It's icy, and... deeply, deeply unhappy. "He..." She takes a deep breath, and forces her smile back on. "Will be fine. Because I will find the cure." In the shift, she drops several of the conversation threads, quite unwillingly.

"I was just going to pop down to the pharmacy anyways, so you'll save me twenty minutes easily if I can nick something off the shelves!"

    "I should have most of those. We'll sort it out before you depart, I may need to drop by storage."

"My my, you do eye exams? Are you able to machine eyeglasses here?"

    "I can, actually. I'll show you the workshop. Minor complaints are... infrequent, given the trouble of traveling here for them. Long-term patients who live here are more likely to have them."

"Doctor Asturias, are you certain that's something you should be leaving in a drawer?"

    "Probably not," she laughs. "And yet I can't find it in me to want to carry this on my person. Or worse, put it in me."

"Nice to meet you both. How long have you worked here?"

    "Give or take 67 years," Milly responds to Netzach and Roland with an inexplicably wide grin, visible through her face's contortions despite the mask, which causes Manu to glare at her. Manu does manage to speak, to answer: "21..."

"Slowing the spread itself is kind of a miracle isn't it...?"
"Every little bit counts."

    "... it's a small miracle of a sort, but I should be able to do better than that. That's why it was so important to me to reach out this way. I need assistance, and I'll grovel for it if I must." She shakes her head to once again regain the smile. "But I would rather embrace you than grovel, if that's all the same."

    She does shake Lilian's hand! It's a start. She'll take it.

"Then one day... After we figure out how to cure the Horrors and have everyone back together, we can help bring things back to those heights."

    "That would be nice. How hopeful! Ah, I must remember to stay in that zone. No one wants to see their doctor lose hope!"
Skipper > Business Card

    Skipper takes it with reverence and a certain amount of awe. An actual business card! It gets very carefully put away.

>Whole? Or do you stuff them?

    Skipper briefly forgets that fruits and vegetables (and fungi) are small outside of their world, and their mental image of 'stuffed mushrooms' briefly involves a table-sized portobello and literal buckets of stuffing.

> "Oh be nice." Lilian laughs anyways.
> Mesmer takes a good solid five steps further away from where Skipper is standing

    "I'm sorry I have to be the one to say this," says Skipper, still smiling. "That is, actually, kind of inconsiderate? The things you are saying and the ways you are acting?"

    "For one thing I'm not a mouse, and for another thing it is kind of... heartless? To joke about someone having that sort of wasting, infectious disease?"

    "But now that you know, it's all fine," Skipper assures them. "Just maybe, a little bit more forethought in the future helps all of us get along."
Petra Soroka "I apologize, if I'd known you weren't comfortable with contact I would have refrained."

    Petra winces a bit. It doesn't feel entirely neutral, to be ambushed by a hug and then accused of being 'not comfortable' with physical contact, as if this is some minor maladaption of Petra's that's her fault even if it's forgiven. Kukuru being here only makes it more starkly relevant in her mind, how often Elites have grappled her into hugs and then been surprised when she flinched away.

    "N-no, it was just surprising." Then she adds, while practically hanging off of Lilian's arm as if trying to keep every inch from shoulder to ankle as close to her as possible, "I'm normal about physical contact."

    But, Petra can't remain unhappy for more than a moment as long as Lilian is still in her honeymoon (not with her) glow. She equips a mask onto her face at the door, like a curious little novelty rather than a medically necessary piece of equipment-- it's *so* rare that sickness is ever something to worry about! She'll be *fine*.

"The window situation back home is fine, but the design I went with for Glascail is so much nicer."

    Petra can keep babbling about this forever, as they pass over the threshold into the manor. As scattershot, purely excited chattering from the heart, she jumps between every topic that Lilian brings up as if it's worth her full undivided attention and full academic focus.

    "Yeah, it is! With that many windows, you sorta start to run the risk of it getting hot and stuffy inside too, but I think the angling of everything at the castle really managed that so well; I think I only remember one hallway where that was kind of an issue, and it fit with the atmosphere well enough that I'd believe it was on purpose. Oh! You know, I had to think about-- Hydrochoeria's usually above the clouds, which is suuuper nice for how bright it always is even when I'm traveling all around, but I had to make sure that all the glass was extra UV-resistant too, or else it'd be so unhealthy. I wonder if there's, uh, UV resistant forcefields? For the atmosphere."

    Still like this is an open house, she looks around the entry hall cheerily. "An old manor like this, centuries before the, Onsl-- whatever the name of the apocalypse here is again, it's gotta be what, 1300s, 1500s at the latest? Do you think they've still got the original ballroom? I'm sure there's probably patients there now or whatever, but that'd be *so* pretty, right? Can't fault a vampire's *aesthetic taste*."

"Pictures, body parts and other assorted samples, though I don't have any 'before and after' shots quite like what you describe."

    Petra opens her mouth automatically to say 'only a matter of time', in reference to her father's inevitable transformation. Thankfully she holds that one in. "That's *so* interesting, actually."

"And the worst of them, the largest, cause Resurgence-like events."

    "Hey, when you say 'Resurgence-like events', what's that actually mean? What is the spire thing holding *back*? Think we could check out that city at some point, or is it, like, lingering disease-dangerous?"
Petra Soroka "Girl talk. Secrets. Drinks. You have the time, right?"

    "Mhm, mhm!" Petra nods several times, overly excited. There's no need to consult Matilda on whether she'll be willing, obviously, so Petra just smoothly inserts her into her mental planning for the hot springs without further comment. "Of course I've got time. Did all my homework before even heading over, to make sure tonight'd be stress-free."

    "Oh, oh, you *do* have drinks, right?" Petra calls over expectantly to Holly. She insisted on it already, but this prompting is actually a favor to Holly because it makes it seem like she was already prepared! No matter that she's being categorized into tour guide/waitress by the wake of Lilian's good mood.

"I've never thought of mushrooms as much of a main feature, but I suppose I've never tried all that hard to find out."

    "Mm! I actually like them better than tofu, as a main protein source. Like tofu, actually, the mistake a lot of people make is trying to treat them *as* meat, but there's a ton of ways to prepare them and they're really flexible."

"I've learned what rabies is,"

    "But you didn't before?" Petra urges, curious about everything like water overflowing from a flooding glass, before Lilian's mild admonishment gets her to back off of Skipper.

"Welcome back, Doctor. Are these the guests?"

    Petra gives the pair of them a short friendly wave, and then puts them out of her mind. She'll have to ask their names again later, but who knows if it'll even matter? *Nicole* is a name she'll remember, though, and the confirmation of drinks and snacks later makes Petra gleefully wiggle while walking.

"Over time, this causes a complete dissolution of personality, loss of sanity, and ultimately, berserk rampages."

    Petra doesn't really care about the personal drama of a torn photograph right now. Maybe she'll be interested in that later! Right now she's locked in on a near-deliriously hedonistic mindstate of clingily chattering and relaxing while indulging the constant stream of questions that bubble up into her mind about the state of this world and the people in it.

    "When you say that, what's that mean? Are there medically concrete stages? Lapses of awareness of their personality and the current moment like Alzheimers? Now, I've done a lot of sanity-related work and all, but back when I worked with that it was more focused on practical behaviors rather than the neurological state-- how would you define 'loss of sanity' here?"

"Much like with humans."

    "Ooohh..." That *does* change things a little bit. Such a universally wide loss of life isn't even good for the people with the most power, if civilization has been reduced back to small clans sheltering from the beasts outside. "Would you say there was a difference in percentage in how many of each were killed? Also, where do you get electricity from?"

"I must have a book on the subject somewhere. May I get back to you on that?"

    "Oh, you've got a *Library*? I would fucking love to check out the library some other day. Ange's trying to make a hub for as much knowledge of the multiverse as possible, and also-- um, I'm sort of interested in that kind of stuff too.
"
Holly Asturias "The Mesmer bloodline is the arcanist lineage that fathered the modern psychiatric techniques of Animal Magnetism,"

    "Oh, arcanists? Petra mentioned you. She--" No, wait, Mesmer has a phobia of blood. Be nice, Holly! "--had completely benign questions that I might want to address another time."

"Surely, she is joking, Doctor Asturias."

    "Oh." Is this... flirting, then? Or something? Holly has to look between Mesmer and Lilian again, entirely unsure what to make of their dynamic.

"Hot springs are a festering sight for all manner of bacteria, and other harmful microbes, regardless."

    "We keep the water pure, don't worry. We couldn't make patients dip into dirty waters. That would be *most* unsafe."

"Do you rely more heavily on nonmedical practices of healing?"

    "Formae, yes, though I prefer to rely on the sciences when possible. Injuries are easy enough to treat normally, for example. I'd be happy to demonstrate once we reach the baths."

"It isn't. You're low on supplies, to maintain research? Are you, also, going to start a blood drive to make-do?"

    "I... perhaps? More samples to study wouldn't be unwelcome, but..." No, something about that tone. Even Holly's starting to narrow her stare.

"What's the threshold in hysteria-prevention you're stopped at in your research?"
"When you say that, what's that mean? Are there medically concrete stages? Lapses of awareness of their personality and the current moment like Alzheimers?"

    "It's... quite irregular. One can normally see a steady progress not unlike bloodthirst in a starved Revenant. Increased hunger, leading into impaired decisions, an increase in violent demeanors even in subjects previously completely docile. But the exact descent... for Revenants, at least, it depends on the types of Formae they excel at using. It's as if our natural talents directly influence the transformation into a Horror, and what shape it will take. What it'll make us into. Not just physically, but mentally as well. It's unsettling."

"Hey, when you say 'Resurgence-like events', what's that actually mean? What is the spire thing holding *back*? Think we could check out that city at some point, or is it, like, lingering disease-dangerous?"

    "Ah, what heavy questions. You really are a journalist, aren't you?" It's a playful laugh at follows. Teasing, not mean. "The original Resurgence is accounted for as a brilliant light that enveloped the world, and turned everything it touched into Horrors. The spire-- the Sealing Spire-- was built by the Progenitors of the seven cardinal houses, at the cost of most of their lives, and that is what it is holding back. As for the city, I have business there, if you can believe it. I lack any samples from the Gula bloodline, among others, and I hear they are led by one. What's left of the survivors, at least."

"Oh, oh, you *do* have drinks, right?"

    "Mhm! I remembered."

"Would you say there was a difference in percentage in how many of each were killed? Also, where do you get electricity from?"

    "Far many more humans died than Revenants. That much I know. But I don't have exact numbers. There were more Revenants left alive than humans, by the time the dust settled. I... couldn't say about how things are today. House Voda might know. Or the Bureau. As for electricity, we get it from a power plant far to the east. The wires run underground. It's been a bit spotty, lately, but we have a backup solar generator too."
Holly Asturias "We do know there's a sea floor down there,"

    "You are deep sea explorers? My that sounds... I'm told much of this Earth is deep underwater now. Seeing some of that... that would be interesting, I think."

"Ohhh. Does cutting a corrupted part off stop it from spreading?"

    "I wish, but no. The parts would tend to regrow even worse. The blight might only manifest on a given body part, but unfortunately it is a malady of the soul. Of Ichor. Or... something like that. We still don't know what to make of the fact inanimate objects can become Horrors. That part has never matched our other theories."

"Do you think they've still got the original ballroom?"

    "Oh, yes, we do have a ballroom upstairs. Or what certainly used to be one. It's our little entertainment center now. It isn't much, but we have a few spare tablets and some video games. Plenty of board games, too."
Riku Asakura 'Totally. We've been trying to get cameras down there, or something, because it'd be really irresponsible of us to just ask you guys to come down without knowing what's down there.'

Riku nods, "That seems responsible.  I'm an Ultraman, though, so I'm not worried about facing the unknown if the camera thing doesn't work out.  I'll just be happy to help anyway I can!"  He looks towards Ichirin, who mentions the loss of a few of the cameras.  "Hm.  I wonder what caused them to be lost..."

'I mean, is everything ever alright?'

This response gets a frown from the man, shaking his head.  "I think things are alright all the time." However, it seems it's more about the place than anything specific.  "I guess I can get that. This place is a little spooky on the outside.  I think what they're doing here is good though, so I can forgive that!" he says brightly.  "Hang in there, Roland!  It's not likely anyone is going to want to drink your blood here."

'Aliens??? Like, from space???'

"Er, yeah, like from space.  One of my roommates is an alien too, so it's not too uncommon..." he says, from a world where aliens can live in peace with humans, except for some who are criminals.  He can't get away from Holly fast enough, who looks at him eye level and then...

'You *must* allow me to... study, no, that sounds wrong. Examine? Yes, examine you. Later. Please!'

Riku looks a little troubled by the language used at first.  Study is the last thing Riku wants to be, but an examination is a different thing.  "I guess that's fine, it'll be like a doctor's check-up..." he says, still unsure about this, but right now he's not sure if anyone will save him from his own desire to be helpful!

'I admit it is a little bit confusing, at first, but think of it as... 'blood arts', perhaps?'

"Oh, so special skills you use are Formae.  Kinda like magic or arts from other places in the multiverse?  That's really cool, I can't wait to see some in person!"

'Because I will find the cure.'

It seems this is a sore subject for Holly, as she doesn't want to talk about it.  He takes a breath and nods.  He doesn't say anything more on the subject and instead focuses on other things.  
Holly Asturias     The tour, following Holly's office, is straightforward-- and perhaps, a bit boring for quite a stretch. Holly walks the lot of you through most of the mansion, highlighting even the most mundane of rooms like it's critically important. Guest room after guest room, turned into makeshift hospital rooms. The wing where staff, and herself, live, barely any fancier than what the patients get to live with.

    The large kitchen.
    Which is a kitchen. And yet she finds the energy to praise the cast iron skillets that they use and go on about the virtues of properly curing one, the ideal oils and herbs to do so--

    A little area that used to be a bar, now a poorly lit reading room. A small library section, not far from it, with mostly books from the 20th and 21st centuries. Any idle glance at those is enough to confirm that this IS Earth, or at least, it used to be a regular modern Earth. Close enough.

    There's a little detour upstairs, too. The old ballroom, repurposed into... a lot of tables, mostly, with indeed board games and video games, stacks of old newspaper, magazines, comic books... a few patients are relaxing there at the moment. It still *looks* and *feels* like a ballroom, though.

    The next room is further back; it goes through darker hallways in the back of the building, which clearly don't see much traffic. Crates litter the hallways, a make-shift storage area that eventually gives into a room filled with boxes of golden mechanical parts, wiring, circuitry, ammunition, spare screens and more tools than one person possibly needs. On one of the workbenches is a massive, golden triple-gatling cannon, the sort most people would need both arms to lift, if they even could at all. It'd be more at home in a fighter jet's frame, and yet here it is, surrounded by tools and being worked on.

    "And this room is my workshop. Although at first my interest in technological Formae was for the sake of prosthetics - cybernetics - glasses, yes - it branched off into learning to repair medical equipment, since getting replacements is so hard, and keeping my firearms functional. I can hardly claim to be massively skilled in the area, but I make do. Oh! I've also been studying Jails, in hopes of improving upon their designs to make them more specialized in dealing with Horrors. I'm... not making much progress."

    Then, finally, even further back in the mansion, in a corner lost to everyone but Holly and a select few, and down some stairs into the basement, is a cold, dry storage room, filled with old fridges that are doing their best, wall-indents and metallic drawers like coffins, and metallic canisters of varying capacities from 2L all the way to 20L. The smell of blood is unmistakable in the air, but it's an odd one, layered a dozen times with slight subtleties between each scent. Holly seems to need a moment, herself, rubbing her nose briefly-- and gives Mesmer a warning that she may want to wait outside.

    "Our last stop is our morgue, and our cold storage. This is where we also keep our blood, but mostly for the purposes of study. Unfortunately, Ichor is extremely volatile. It doesn't keep in blood, even stored in ideal conditions, for longer than a few days. This means that blood is usually consumed as soon as we receive it, and the one I keep here is for research purposes. I've amassed samples from over twenty different kinds of Horrors, and from each of the minor Revenant houses. Getting blood from the cardinal houses is more difficult, and it's something I desperately need if I hope to advance my research, but finding Revenants that hail from those houses *and* that are willing to possibly give away the genetic secrets of their bloodlines isn't easy." She looks at Petra. "Hence, an eventual trip to that city."
Lilian Rook     'Hein? Of course, Mrs. Rook! The most highly-esteemed Matilda Bouanich could have done nothing else, ah-hah...'

    Lilian isn't sure that Matilda has understood her correctly, but she said Mrs. Rook so it doesn't matter!

    'I, er, was not told to expect that you would be here, though..? Is it, due to some follow-up with your own researching..?'

    "Told?" Lilian tilts her head. That implies some degree of explicitness, right? Did Matilda ask? "Oh it's nothing terribly serious! Since we're both here, let's just enjoy ourselves!"

    'Terribly, with exposure consequences on a cataclysmic scale. She's in dire need of treatment, monitoring, containment, and correctional therapy. Don't listen to any words she says, they're a manipulation tactic.'

    Finally, something capable of making Lilian frown. Enough to notice, around the point of 'containment and correctional therapy'. She considers whether to say anything, but decides against it when Matilda takes over. Who in god's name would listen to Mesmer anyways?

    'I'd prefer you didn't comment on that.'

    "Oh calm down." Lilian sighs. "I only mean to say that nobody is forcing you. I assume that your orders didn't go as far as to examine the novel medical methods by which the spring is treated to prevent exactly that possibility, so I'm certain you can find any old room to wait in while Matilda has fun."

    'Oh? That's a surprise.'

    Lilian stares back the first time. Lilian blinks down and looks at her left ring finger the second time. Her mouth opens then shuts again, and takes one more false start before she gives in to a monosyllabic laugh of confusion. "Really? Everyone in Laplace knew about it. Matilda was even invited." Lilian says. "Tamamo-no-Mae, remember? You've met her."

    'I should have most of those. We'll sort it out before you depart, I may need to drop by storage'

    Lilian makes a little relief noise. Productivity! "Thank you very much." Most of the answers to her other questions go by with only minor comment; idle observations about the number of rooms, living conditions, if the minor rooms are used for people in extended convalesence for checkups instead, and so on. It's only the one answer that prompts a new question entirely.

    'I can't find it in me to want to carry this on my person. Or worse, put it in me.'

    "Hm? Why? Isn't it important?"

    'I need assistance, and I'll grovel for it if I must.'

    "Doctor Asturias." Lilian says, momentarily more grave, though not without the trace elements of her overall sunny tone still lingering. "There are many things other than groveling that would be more useful to get used to. Please don't speak as if you think so little of sacrificing your pride."

    'For one thing I'm not a mouse, and for another thing it is kind of... heartless? To joke about someone having that sort of wasting, infectious disease?'

    "Humans are equally susceptible to rabies." Lilian sighs. "I think it might be all mammals? I'm not an expert." She shakes her head. "Well whatever. Nobody suggested you had it, and no one is calling you filthy." She looks at Petra instead of Mesmer; she can't help that one. "She's curious. You'll have to forgive her."
Lilian Rook     'I think I only remember one hallway where that was kind of an issue, and it fit with the atmosphere well enough that I'd believe it was on purpose.'

    "Oh, Satsuki's stage? That was, actually! It was set up to be a sort of prelude to the 'Foundry'. You know how it is with the entire 'supervillain ego-conceit', don't you? They always want to surprise you, but they can't help but foreshadow it in advance too; it's part of the theatrical ruleset I was trying to recreate!" Aaaand now she's back to chattering.

    'An old manor like this, centuries before the, Onsl-- whatever the name of the apocalypse here is again'

    "Scouring." says Lilian, little smug nod included for her own private joke (again). "Wait, was it Collapse or Resurgence? Are those separate?"

    'Like tofu, actually,'

    Lilian pauses. "Huh. Why don't I like tofu better, honestly?" Questions for later. Right now, Petra is engaged on a topic, and even though Lilian really cannot possibly have any empathetic interest in a bestial plague that robs people of life and sanity while half her brain is still in Vienna, she can warmly admire Petra's enthusiasm and appreciate just how far she's come from the Petra in her memory. That, too, glows, in her opinion. The fact that Mesmer has questions to ask as well feels both inevitable and irrelevant; unworthy of notice, even.

    'We keep the water pure, don't worry. We couldn't make patients dip into dirty waters. That would be *most* unsafe.'

    "Oh don't worry; that's just how she declines things." Lilian says. "We can all see perfectly well that you run a clean operation! There's no need to stress."
UFO Gang "Oh, certainly, that would be lovely of you to do, Netzach!" Ichirin answers them: "And I suppose we were being quiet about it at Lob-Corp... Nazrin got scolded for it, honestly..."

"We're trying to get down there and free our old teacher, Lady Hijiri, who was sealed a thousand and six years ago," Ichirin tells Netzach. "Most of us were sealed up too. But, we don't want to disappoint her... Which is why we've resolved to be considerate of others." (Unzan also grunts, this time in agreement.)

Minamitsu leans back a little to say to Kukuru and Netzach, "You could bring them stuffed animals. That'd cheer them up..." Then the both of them look towards Mesmer Jr. Another doctor? Or a scientist, at least.

As Holly examines Riku, Minamitsu says, "Aren't we all kind of aliens to each other...?" But then Holly has a comment for them. "Not exactly... that's just where Lady Hijiri is. Or, uh, something else and then her."

"I'm worried it's something-else," Ichirin says, with a briefly pained look. "But if it is simply a stone seal, then it would surely be easy to -- well; simple to recover her...!"

But something about what Holly said. Minamitsu blinks several times. "... Was there a big flood?"

MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG ->

During the tour the girls look in and around. Ichirin nods along once Holly takes a moment to speak about the virtues of an iron cookpot, looking appraisingly at several of the skillets. She may be considering their many virtues...

The girls actually startle when they see the patients. Not from horror or revulsion but surprise! They remain quiet. Further down. "I never thought of glasses as being prosthetics," Minamitsu muses aloud.

"It sounds as though you are working in a way contrary to the purpose of many of the others here," Ichirin says: "It's a tragedy if they're jealous enough of their, formae?, to interfere with treatments that might benefit everyone..."
Skipper > And yet she finds the energy to praise the cast iron skillets that they use and go on about the virtues of properly curing one, the idea oils and herbs to do so--

    No, no, personal kitchen matters areimportant to cover in exhaustive detail. Skipper listens intently and throws their own notes on the matter into the ring.

> And this room is my workshop.

    It takes Skipper a while to realize that the massive golden thing is a weapon.

    "Question," they ask, with a politely raised hand. "What are you fighting that needs a weapon as big as that...?"

>Humans are equally susceptible to rabies.

    This is true! Skipper is mollified, and goes from smiling politely to smiling politely.

> She's curious. You'll have to forgive her.

    "Oh! Oh, my apologies," says Skipper, immediately pivoting to accepting that this whole thing was their fault for not indulging and tolerating Petra's curiosity. "If you have questions, by all means...?" they ask Petra.
Riku Asakura The patients' rooms are shown off, which are the empty ones.  These are important, and one would dare say a critical part of any hospital.  Though not very interesting, anything that is important is hardly exciting all the time.  

The large kitchen is amazing to Riku, who lingers in here a bit longer.  Ever since awakening to his Ultraman powers, he's become more aware that calorie intake is important.  Sadly, he usually supplements this with cup noodle.

The bar turned half library is another interesting location.  He doesn't have any questions, but it does seem this used to be an Earth of at least the modern era.  The books at least give that much of a clue, but Riku isn't sure where the divergence is yet.  

'The workshop'

This room is full of many things.  Worked on projects, and then there is the triple-gatling cannon that looks more at home on a jetfighter than sitting here being worked on like a common weapon.  "Wow, do you use this as a regular weapon?" Riku asks, staring at it with some amazement.  Anyone who could use it, never mind lift it, would be amazingly strong.

Other things catch Riku's attention.  Such as the tools hanging around and the golden parts just strewn about.  It looks like a mess, but anyone who knows a mechanic's place knows that it is rarely a mess and that everything has a place.  

'The morgue and cold storage.'

Riku could have done without being shown this, but he guesses it's important to know everything about a place.  The smell alone reminds him of L-corp.  It's not a pleasant memory, and he wants to forget about that place as much as he can.  The blood for feeding only keeps for a few days, but the blood for research is held longer.  It also feels like it's part research lab, too.  

'Hence, an eventual trip to that city.'

"Well, if you need people to help you make that trip, count me in.  This all looks so important that I can't help but be moved by your desire to cure this plague!"  
Lilian Rook     Though Lilian can find energy to discuss the virtues of cast iron, she keeps her participation in (completely pointless) cooking-talk somewhat reserved, eager to share what she's personally certain of but still cautious about saying anything that could reveal herself to be a recent amateur. She says something about how it's a shame the ballroom isn't being used for dancing, before remembering that most of the people here probably shouldn't be moving around a lot on her own, and scans the titles in the library without opening anything; she may love books, but this isn't a reading occasion.

    The workshop surprises her, at least. 'Interest' is a difficult thing to gauge, while Lilian can find literally nothing in the world more interesting than her wife for more than ten seconds, but it gets a reaction, at least.

    The part of her brain that is married to the sword instead, older, nearly on vacation, makes a few absentminded observations and rough calculations about the use of gold here; her first and only. Once she sees the guns, she looks right back at Holly-- really looks, anyone can tell-- and glances her up and down. "I wouldn't have guessed." she says, nonspecifically. "I was so sure that you'd have protection from the Bureau, or a Revenant Hunter or two on your payroll. Odd."

    'What are you fighting that needs a weapon as big as that...?'

    "I mean--" Lilian double takes at Skipper. "Probably Horrors, right? I've just been assuming they're very big."

    Of course she recognizes the smell in the morgue. Actually, Lilian stops to breathe in a few more times, with irregular pauses between then, fixated on something she doesn't say out loud.

    'Unfortunately, Ichor is extremely volatile. It doesn't keep in blood, even stored in ideal conditions, for longer than a few days.'

    "Oh that's a shame. Here I was about to give you my professional recommendation on better preservation equipment!" Lilian says, reluctantly dragging her eyes away from the beat-up refrigerators. "But really, though; this is exactly what I mean!"

    "You shouldn't talk about bowing and scraping when you haven't even tried the easy way to get that blood. If it's for your life's work, you should get much, much more shameless."
Kukuru "Hot springs are"

"Oh, don't you worry about that. It's just like a big bath tub, but more comfy because it's with friends. A little ickyness you can't see is worth it." Kukuru asserts to Mesmer, smiling again with just a little bit more straining. Even she's not blind to the tension, but it's not so much that she can't try to smother a little of it. "Besiiides. Even if someone dies from it, I'd be able to fix it, so there's eeeven less of a problem." She adds, relaxing a little at Matilda's eagerness to see the spring.

"Formae," "It's quite a catch-all term."

"I see, I see... Okay! Simple enough."  Kukuru lets out a relieved sigh at Holly's explanation, visibly pleased that it's not so complicated.

"Because I will find the cure."

Hearing about Holly's father puts a particularly serious look on Kukuru's face, too, and she just nods once while looking outside, or as outside as she can at the moment. She's heard enough about the Horrors that she's got some kind of idea how serous this all is, and she's not about to pry about his circumstances.

Instead, she focuses on the information Holly's provided, and the topic of assistance. "Do you have somewhere we can bring Horrors and other researchy... Materials?" She asks, struggling briefly to remember that last word. "You'll never need to grovel with us, dear. We're family now, so we'll help you with whatever you need." She states confidently, briefly forgetting that not everyone here is actually in the Concord.

"The parts would tend to regrow even worse."

"Soul stuff... Oh, that's super tricky, then. So killing them and fixing them might not do it, either..." Kukuru purses her lips as she tries and fails to come up with an alternative stopgap, getting even more confused by Holly mentioning objects turning into Horrors. "That sounds like just about anything can attack and infect people, then... Oh dear, that's extra scary. We'll have to reaaally keep our eyes open when we go hunting for Horrors to bring back, then."

MORE TOUR

Kukuru's mood lifts visibly as the tour continues, not seeming bored at all. She's being shown new things in the context of this world by a new family member, after all, so she can't help but be eager to see it all! Whether she absorbs it or not is another matter, but certain rooms do stick with her much more than others.

The kitchen is a given, of course, and she's more than willing to join in at length about the differences in using wooden utensils versus stainless steel ones. She's also rather interested in the bar and only mildly disappointed by its conversion to a reading room, although she does take a closer look at the books despite lacking a lot in that field.

In the workshop, a lot of the supplies just kind of meld together in Kukuru's mind, although she does eye that gatling cannon curiously along with all the gold parts. One of her questions turns out to be partially answered when Holy speaks of Jails for dealing with Horrors in some manner, and that raises a new question in her head.

"Are the Jails you have right now not strong enough? Or is it something liiike... The Horrors not being held in like regular people?"
Kukuru Smelling blood further in the back of the mansion, Kukuru's treated to more information! She strokes her chin thoughtfully as Holly tells everyone about the Revenant houses, eventually raising her hand again while covering her mouth to try (and fail to) stifle another open-mouth yawn. The smell of blood, weirdly enough, isn't actually making her hungry for once.

"Why wouldn't they want to help? If this Horror problem is bad for everyone, you'd think they'd wanna help figure all this stuff out, riiight?" She asks, sounding troubled by what seems like an odd gap to her. "With as bad as all this is, they should be-"

"the easy way to get that blood."

"-grateful you're not just taking it out of them, mhm."

"You could bring them stuffed animals."

"Something they wouldn't be able to find here... Oh, that's a wonderful idea. I wonder what kind of stuffed things they'd like here." Kukuru nods quickly at Minamitsu and Netzach while lowering her volume to stage-whisper, not quite sure why she's doing that yet fully confident that she should be. "Maybe farm animals? Or seafood... Er. Sea animals?"
Holly Asturias "Wait, was it Collapse or Resurgence? Are those separate?"

    "Annoyingly, out historians chose to refer even to the first instance of the Resurgence as the Resurgence, even though it is not a 're'surgence. They then chose to call subsequent instances of it, also, the Resurgence, or Resurgence-like events. Meanwhile, the Collapse simply refers to the fall of civilization during the original Resurgence, and in the years that followed."

"Hm? Why? Isn't it important?"

    "Very, I suppose," Holly says with zero enthusiasm, for a change. "But the man who gave it to me is... unpleasant." She tactfully leaves it at that.

"Please don't speak as if you think so little of sacrificing your pride."

    "I... you might be right. Perhaps I've gotten too used to smiling for favors. Now I can smile because I want to." And she does.

"Question," they ask, with a politely raised hand. "What are you fighting that needs a weapon as big as that...?"

    "Horrors," Holly replies, completely and entirely unhelpfully. "Ah, but that weapon... it's special. It's been passed down the Luxuria bloodline, you see. I may not be one to fully embrace tradition, but I could not bear to mistreat my family's treasure."

"I guess that's fine, it'll be like a doctor's check-up..."

    "Wonderful!" Oh no.

"We can all see perfectly well that you run a clean operation!"

    With a bit of relief, Holly nods. "Consider me glad. We do the best we can with what we have. I'll always feel it isn't enough, but if it weren't for that drive, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did. So you could say it has its upsides."

"... Was there a big flood?"

    "Countless cataclysms all at once. Some Horrors, they say, got as big as cities. I don't know if there's any truth to that; I haven't found *accounts*. Merely old tales from alleged survivors. But when they turned, they razed most of the Earth. One way or another."

"It sounds as though you are working in a way contrary to the purpose of many of the others here,"

    "Mmm... maybe. I think people are good, as a default stance. Even Revenants. But, it would be a lot easier to be good, if we weren't held back by old traditions like Revenant bloodlines. That people still put that pride ahead of our collective survival..." She looks from Ichirin to Lilian. "Perhaps that's why I'm so willing to sacrifice it."

"I was so sure that you'd have protection from the Bureau, or a Revenant Hunter or two on your payroll. Odd."

    Holly blinks when she's looked at, but hardly knows Lilian. She can only tell that's the most she's looked, so far. "Would that we did. The Revenant Hunters *do* patrol the area, but you really can't count on them being everywhere at once. So... better safe than sorry, is the common saying, right?"

"If it's for your life's work, you should get much, much more shameless."

    "... how shameless?" Holly asks, a bit of the sweetness dropping out of her tone. For a split second, her gaze wanders off Lilian and towards Mesmer, before she closes her eyes and beams. "I'll put this thought away for now, but maybe you can help me with Petra's questions later."

"Do you have somewhere we can bring Horrors and other researchy... Materials?"

    "Here is fine. I might need to get more fridges."
Angela ''Hang in there, Roland.''

"Mighty big of you to say," Roland says back. But he sighs a little when Riku actually calls him out on being afraid of getting his blood sucked. "Look, I know there's plenty of nice vampires out there, hell there's even nice Blood Fiends in The City probably. But I've never met them. And one nearly killed me. If I was alone, I wouldn't be here to be feeling uneasy." He's not really sure it's something that he'll get over, though. Maybe if he meets more nice vampires? But the one that nearly got him was once a healer too...

Periodically, he can't help but stare at Holly, occassionally being nudged out of it by Netzach. Sixty Five years, he thinks, holy shit.

''Oh that would be lovely of you to do.''

Netzach is as surprised as Angela would be at them volunteering to do more work. But Netzach gives a hapless shrug. "Hey, you did your work without complaint, you weren't one of the ones that went against the project in the end right?" They're not really sure one way or the other.

''Free our old teacher.''

Netzach's eyes widen. "Geeze...come on, people would've been willing to help you out." They say. "Why'd you feel the need to keep it so quiet? Doing everything just amongst yourselves feels like a pretty lonely way to go about it right?"
Lilian Rook     'Perhaps that's why I'm so willing to sacrifice it.'

    Lilian shakes her head. Her shut-eyed expression is a bit patronizing, but ostensibly on the north side of sympathetic. "Doctor Asturias." she sighs. "I'd like you to learn this lesson before it stops being free." Gathering herself up, she pauses more for gravitas than to line up her words.

    "You can only sacrifice your pride once. After that, no one will ever help you ever again. No one will even look at you. If you admit that you're worth less than they are, that's it. If you ever have to sacrifice something that important, please make it count."

    '... how shameless?'

    "First. Eleventh. Twelfth." Lilian says it like it's actually an answer. She probably expects someone will explain it later. Or she doesn't really care either way.

    'Oh! I've also been studying Jails, in hopes of improving upon their designs to make them more specialized in--'
    'Are the Jails you have right now not strong enough?'

    Earth to Lilian. Earth to Lilian. "Wait what?"
Foundation Scions 'Told?'

    "Ah? No, well- all I was told was that I should accompany Mesmer along, that she had to find someone who could come along, for seeing through this effort, for the FDMO, and, her family, I think?" Hushed, but not hushed enough to avoid a glare from her coworker, "She seemed quite unhappy about it!"

'That would be *most* unsafe.'

    "It would be, yes-" "Ah-hah! That is fantastic news! Mesmer, there is no pressing need for either of us to return too quickly, yes..? Ah, une journée au spa..." Matilda hums, excitedly.

'Tamamo-no-Mae, remember? You've met her.'

    "Oh. I suppose I have. Congratulations." A sigh, and a little dismissive-disgusted eyebrow-scrunch, and a stare down at Lilian's hand, then at Mesmer's own fingernails, "Shockingly fast for there to already be someone else. Well. It's hardly my business to fuss over."

'Injuries are easy enough to treat normally, for example.'

    "It's a relief that you consider science-based medicinal healing to be the norm, at the very least." Mesmer sounding pleased and snarky about that surely doesn't bode ill, does it? Matilda undercuts- "Oh, oh! I, would most-like to see a demonstration of your formae, Doctor Asturias!" Mesmer 'tchs'.

'I... perhaps? More samples to study wouldn't be unwelcome, but...'

    Nearly under-breath, Mesmer mouths "Gross. Disgusting. Are you just going to drink it?" Whatever vitriol that went into that statement isn't, exactly, present in anything else Mesmer's been saying, but it's unmistakable, there.

'It's as if our natural talents directly influence the transformation into a Horror, and what shape it will take.'

    "So, it's a matter of faulty, or incomplete, diagnostic procedures?" Mesmer sighs, deeper this time, annoyed, at the prospect that this will lead to sales pitches, later. But no one said she had to be proactive, today, so, Holly is spared, for now, hearing about Artificial Somnambulism. Besides, Mesmer's not even sure if it is, yet, a matter of diagnostics. Nasal, neutral, "You're right. That is very unsettling."

. . .

    "Ah-hah, this library, it is so very quaint! Were the light, somewhat brighter... it would be excellent!" Matilda nearly has to get pulled by her shirtcollar out of poking around there when it's time to move on, looking for dusty books she'd be familiar with; checking the written language, and bothering to fix the occasional mis-shelved books (per the decimal systems *she* considers right, at least.)

    The workshop has Mesmer stare, though- at the gatling gun. "That's excessive. Is there a reason that it's polished to that color and brightness?" Mesmer shifts, in a huff, and looks away from it.

    "Are you American? It's always them who have such, strange fixations on those rotational firearms, they're excessively loud in memory-imprint, and, people attribute entirely unpalatable fondness for their mechanism."

    A glare from Matilda, who's confused by it, but, normally-so, and Mesmer retracts her words- "No, I'm certain there's a use-case, or the choices weren't yours to make on it. Disregard that all."
Foundation Scions 'Our last stop is our morgue,'

"Hah," Under-breath, following the exhale, "Of course it is."
"Perhaps, last, so that you can more easily avoid it..?"
"What? No. I have to come up with a report on all of this."
"I, can keep note for you within?"
"That's ridiculous. It's only a morgue. The LRC's morgue isn't avoidable; it hasn't killed me to see within the times I've had to, this will be no different."
"But, Mesmer, you look pale, and-"
"It's fine. I'm fine."

    A moment passes, Mesmer moves onwards, and away from Matilda, "It's an absolutely disgusting smell."

    Within, like it's some meditative, self-flagellating mission, Mesmer puts more effort into taking notes on what she sees, and what's said, than she has been throughout the tour. Scrawled shorthand, paper-imprinting force.

'Finding Revenants that hail from those houses *and* that are willing to possibly give away the genetic secrets of their bloodlines isn't easy.'

    Quiet, to not be argumentative as much as she's just being leaky, "That's sensible, despite the inconvenience there is to you and your work. Genetic secrets are a nuisance to hide once they've escaped; it's private, personal, and utterly disgusting to take that by force." Through her tirade, Mesmer is holding her arms close to her body, defensive-weird. Huh. "What if they're cloned? What if they're made obsolete? What if a tailored virus is created to spark all of their tissues into cancerous expansion? It's important to safeguard. I hope even the willing ones know what they're yielding."

    "Mesmer..? Are you alri-" "Yes. It's nothing."
Petra Soroka "That is, actually, kind of inconsiderate? The things you are saying and the ways you are acting?"

    "Oh! No," Petra responds to Skipper cheerily, as if this is just a simple misunderstanding. As to the content of the misunderstanding, "No, you're wrong. That's not right."

"Oh, arcanists? Petra mentioned you. She--"

    "Arcanists generally," Petra hastily corrects. "I'd never be caught dead mentioning Mesmer on my own time."

    A moment later, Petra glares at Holly when she glances between Lilian and Mesmer, as if she can read her internal narration. Petra, is clinging to Lilian's arm and chattering about cooking and houseplans and hanging out in a hot tub. *Mesmer* is being a gross standoffish *bitch* and she'd burst into flames if she touched Lilian even a little. Fix your internal social assumptions or be immolated by Petra's psionic beams.

"But the exact descent... for Revenants, at least, it depends on the types of Formae they excel at using."

    Petra tilts her head (towards Lilian's shoulder), putting on a thoughtful expression. "Oh. Like the Distortion a little." She waves her hand, "I'll tell you about that later."

    That could mean several things. Its ability to infect humans and Revenants alike, while having a unique connection to the magic of a Revenant's blood, sounds like it is *engineered* in a sense. For a disease to interact with magic, it has to be based in magic originally somehow, which isn't a huge revelation considering the Resurgence, but then why are there humans at *all* in this world if the nature of the world is magical? Was the whole *Resurgence* engineered by someone? It seems like a ridiculously high price to pay for any kind of goal, but some people do just want to kill everyone.

    "Have you ever purposefully infected a plant with the horror-disease in order to track its progression? Or, like, made clones or something for that? Maybe that wouldn't be safe before, but if nothing else, Elites are a lot of firepower to have on your side, so it wouldn't be out of the question."

"The original Resurgence is accounted for as a brilliant light that enveloped the world, and turned everything it touched into Horrors."

    Petra's eyebrows raise, genuinely shocked. "What the fuck? That's so scary." Then, 'light that enveloped the world that turned everyone into monsters based on their fixations and talents' registers fully in her mind after just having compared it to the Distortion. She side-eyes Lilian, flicking her eyes towards Holly to be like 'are you hearing this?'

    "Anyways. Hell yeah dude-- doctor, I'll join you going to the wiped-out nightmare city. That'd be *so* interesting."

"There were more Revenants left alive than humans, by the time the dust settled."

    But then, why did the most powerful Revenants in the world sacrifice themselves for the Spire? If this is an apocalypse that benefitted no one, that came out of nowhere, with no connection to any individual or group's political motivations or any material thing that existed in the world beforehand, then what was the point? A metaphorical meteor strike? But no, it still could've been something like that-- a scheme, spiraling out of control, for some power gambit or whatever, that people were then forced to fight against or face extinction.

    Petra *is* writing this down. All that looks like is her taking her phone out of her pocket whenever something interesting is said, and then enveloping her phone in Silver to rapidly type paragraphs in the span of seconds.
Petra Soroka "I'm told much of this Earth is deep underwater now."

    "Oh *fuck* yeah! I love to go underwater! I mean, the Beauty of Ash is designed for space, but the bottom of the ocean is basically the same thing."

"Really? Everyone in Laplace knew about it."

    "Riiiight?" Petra draws out the word with a laughingly dismissive edge to it, like she's rolling her eyes and scoffing rolled into one sound. "I mean, even not having any friends isn't enough to justify being that clueless. She just doesn't pay attention to the world around her, either? Blind, deaf, lonely, and dumb, I guess-- I mean, you've been talking about it for a *year*."

"You know how it is with the entire 'supervillain ego-conceit', don't you?"

    "Yesssss, I thought so! I feel like heroes never appreciate proper *foreshadowing*! If this whole Horror thing is some Machiavellian scheme from some villainous vampire somewhere, I'll at *least* have some praise for *that* part of it."

    Petra doesn't really care about most of the tour. She's here to hang out, and mine Lore, not to evaluate the OSHA adherence of a hospital for a disease she doesn't know much about. She does eye the patients in the ballroom as they pass by-- giving them a wave if they look at her so it isn't awkward-- but she's interested in seeing what a 'declined health state' looks like, here.

"And this room is my workshop."

    "Huh," Petra says, about the giant golden gatling gun, which is a level of absurdity to a weapon that she's almost never seen before. She eventually produces the comment, having no clue how the gun works, "... It's a nice size."

"I've also been studying Jails, in hopes of improving upon their designs to make them more specialized in dealing with Horrors."

    "Ha! Well, I'm the expert in-- well, I don't actually know what your 'Jails' are or look like or do."

"Our last stop is our morgue, and our cold storage."

    "My favorite part of any house tour," Petra says jokingly, but she's so relaxed and bubbly-positive that it sounds worryingly sincere. "Hmm, you know, talking about Ichor as a kind of... radiation? That degrades over time in blood, actually makes me think about some things. Humans who fight have inherently denser 'life force', huh?"

"If it's for your life's work, you should get much, much more shameless."

    Blood and cold dust is a slightly different palette of scent than usual, but it's close enough that Petra settles down from her agitatedly curious state to look around. The fridges, the blood, the Revenant hunters that it's extracted from, the 'Bureau' and the power they wield despite every bloodline being decapitated by the production of the Spire and the scattered settlements that still exist on the fractured Earth...

    "... Do they refrigerate the blood that they send to you?" It's a silly, specific question, but one that feels really important to her.
UFO Gang The morgue doesn't really move Ichirin. Minamitsu stares, a bit, but they're moving along. Being kind of uncomfortable in a place like that is pretty normal.

Once they're past that, Minamitsu looks at Kukuru again. Kukuru is friendly, lively, doesn't have sharp edges (to her experience anyway). A nicer thing to focus upon. "Hmmm... that seems like it might be complex... you can ask Holly, maybe, and bring a few all-around ones too."

This is a fine conversational topic, yes. Much more peaceful than the scope of what Dr. Arturius is outlining. Minamitsu is nevertheless drawn to look back at her... the conversation at least seems to be moving back towards 'adventure' and not consideration of an entire world drowning in horrors.

"No," Ichirin says to Netzach. "If we did anything against it, it was out of ignorance and accident."

Her lips then purse. "Well... she was... controversial..." As she says this, the otherwise cheerful girl reaches up and toys with some of her hair. Subconsciously she leans a little against Unzan, who seems to be thickening. "I suppose that it made sense not to bring it up at first, but..."

Unzan grumbles something, which Ichirin interlocutes a bit: "Oh -- he has a good point. It's been so long and people's opinions have changed... She wasn't a bad person, but she wanted to teach peace and tranquility even to yokai and ghosts and creatures like that. And," she concludes, with a firm nod, "she succeeded! But people - humans, I suppose I should say - resented it."

"But now, there's all sorts of people. Ultramen and arcanists and people like Miss Skipper there. If anything, this would be her time." And with that, she paps her fist into her other hand again!

"We do have to wait for Shou though," Minamitsu says.

"Oh, of course, I mean -- oh, because of the --" "Yeah," Minamitsu says with a nod. She explains to Roland, who may or may not care, "We need it to break the seal!"

"So we certainly have time for the baths," Ichirin says, doing the fist-pap again. Then Minamitsu imitates it. Both of them nod.
Lilian Rook     'She seemed quite unhappy about it!'

    Lilian makes a . . . strangely sympathetic noise? Almost a sigh? More of a 'clearing the air' exhale. "Well, you can hardly blame her. It's scary." Lilian says. "You'd think they'd someone else to a vampire hospital."

    'Oh. I suppose I have. Congratulations.'

    Finally. Lilian stops seeming vaguely uneasy about how to deal with Mesmer's existence and actually smiles. "Thank you. I won't be in for the rest of the week either, so enjoy your time." What? At work?

    'Shockingly fast for there to already be someone else. Well. It's hardly my business to fuss over.'

    Anyone could almost hear the squealing tires. Lilian belts out "I'm sorry?" far less kindly than she would like. The second word has that threateningly stressed syllable. Just hearing her own voices makes Lilian stop to take a pair of deep breaths. The movement of her eyes corresponds to counting things in the room, first. "I see there must have been some sort of miscommunication, though I can't imagine where." Lilian says, barely north of neutral. "No one else is . . . involved? I don't even know what to say to that. Our plans have been practically public record for nearly a year." More deep breaths. Come on Lilian. Keep it together. "Well! It's not as if you'd be all that interested, so perhaps you didn't know. I've actually been having a wonderful time lately, so, no offense taken. Once we reach the springs, perhaps you could use the library? It seems quiet, so it's unlikely you'd be bothered, and perhaps you could even finish up whatever research you have to report back with later?"

    'Gross. Disgusting. Are you just going to drink it?'

    Lilian massages one temple, looking sidelong to Matilda for help. "I don't think a member of the FDMO should be making that sort of racially insensitive remark on outreach." she sighs. "I don't want to file any reports on honeymoon, okay? Can we just agree to have a normal time?"

    'Are you American?'

    Fuck. Mesmer is kind of funny. Lilian snorts, then covers her mouth by polite habit; ridiculous-looking while wearing her own mask and gloves.

    '... It's a nice size.'

    Fuck! Now she's snickering!

    'Arcanists generally. I'd never be caught dead mentioning Mesmer on my own time.'

    Lilian's momentary look of alarm at Petra is soothed. Yay!

    'What the fuck? That's so scary.'

    Lilian catches the look, then just kind of nods supportively. "Terrifying." she says.

    'Yesssss, I thought so! I feel like heroes never appreciate proper *foreshadowing*!'

    "That's actually what I failed half the groups on! They can't, like, conceive of someone both way more powerful than them and just kind of having fun with it! Refusing to dignify the cute little narrative conceit of Quicknest and trying to farm it for brooding angst is how it got so stupid! What's so hard about playing into the story a little?! It benefits you!" Lilian exasperates, not without excitement. For once, this isn't a thing she's being a hypocrite about, even! That's kind of what she does!

    'Humans who fight have inherently denser 'life force', huh?'

    "Everybody knows that." says Lilian. Her little nod means that Petra is getting a good score in being an Elite.
Holly Asturias "Are the Jails you have right now not strong enough?"

    "They are fine, but they could be easier to use. They're an ideal weapon against Horrors, despite being for fighting Revenants. Still... they place quite the burden on the body, and I feel it should be possible to optimize them. Adapting them for Revenant use was already a boon, but... something is missing. Hang on. Let me show you, actually."

    Holly takes a step back, to put some space between the group and herself. She reaches behind her with one hand, and swirls of red-but-mostly-golden blood burst out of the base of her spine. The blood coalesces, into a long, segmented mechanical tail of solid gold, which starts coiling around Holly in the air.

    It ends in a massive stinger, which flashes red as it snaps and clicks. Holly's eyes light up, and a matching mask covered in a veil-like shape swirls itself into being out of her blood too.

"Wait what?"

    "This is mine. You'll notice the lack of cavity on my back for a Revenant's heart; I have my own, after all, and yet this doesn't seem to interface with the Jail the same way. It isn't as efficient."

    She runs her hand along the tail, fingernails scraping the metal, from its base at her spine, slowly, all the way to the stinger. The Jail, slowly, uncoils, revealing that the segments can unfurl and stretch, like they're a spring under tension.

    It makes for Mesmer, not so quickly as to be an attack. It's so she can observe it, despite the fact Lilian and Kukuru were the ones asking. It reeks of blood. Not just because it's freshly formed from it.

    It's idle, in front of her face. Holly takes a few steps forward, the tail adjusting itself so that the stinger remains perfectly still where it is.

    "The primary use of a Jail is to drain the victim of blood. Of Ichor. It attacks a Revenant - and a Horror - at the source of their power, and deprives them of it. The wielder can then use it. But the technology hasn't been iterated on in... years. Something is missing. There's a slight delay, there's Ichor loss in the process, and it tends to leave the user vulnerable while it's doing its thing. It's a commitment."

    She finally drops her hand from the tail, and the Jail liquefies back into golden swirls of red-accented blood, which splashes back into Holly. The mask, and the glow in her eyes, go with it too.

    "... ah. Perhaps a bit too intense."

    At least there's confirmation Mesmer's getting under her skin.
    Just a bit.
Lilian Rook     'They are fine, but they could be easier to use. They're an ideal weapon against Horrors, despite being for fighting Revenants.'

    "Oh it's a weapon!" Lilian says with-- a weird amount of relief, thankfully.

    Then Holly just kind of whips it out and even Honeymoon Lilian takes a step back. She keeps her hand off her sword, but still makes her space. Her lips turn with a hint of annoyance, like Holly should have known better.

    'This is mine. You'll notice the lack of cavity on my back for a Revenant's heart'

    "I . . . suppose I do?"

    'The primary use of a Jail is to drain the victim of blood.'

    "Oh gross." What?
Holly Asturias "You can only sacrifice your pride once."

    Back to Earth it is, indeed. Holly takes a moment, which requires several deep breaths. She might be used to working with blood, but being in this room is still... "Anyway. Yes. You're absolutely correct."

"Gross. Disgusting. Are you just going to drink it?"

    "Please don't insult my integrity like that. If I needed to feed, I would disclose it." Although being in this room sure doesn't help!

"So, it's a matter of faulty, or incomplete, diagnostic procedures?"

    "Incomplete, more than faulty. We still don't understand what caused... or causes... the Resurgence. Without that key puzzle piece, figuring the rest out is difficult."

"That's excessive. Is there a reason that it's polished to that color and brightness?"

    "It comes out like that," Holly explains, which makes more sense now that she's shown the Jail forming out of her blood.

"That's sensible, despite the inconvenience there is to you and your work. Genetic secrets are a nuisance to hide once they've escaped; it's private, personal, and utterly disgusting to take that by force."

    "I... don't think I can agree to that, respectfully. When it's a matter of curing what is slaughtering the last vestiges of life left, I think, such secrets are worth giving up. They'll be worthless to the cardinal houses once they're all dead. What'll have been the point, then?"

"Oh gross."

    "Is it? I suppose... Revenants must have felt that way when they were first fielded against them, actually."
Holly Asturias "Have you ever purposefully infected a plant with the horror-disease in order to track its progression? Or, like, made clones or something for that? Maybe that wouldn't be safe before, but if nothing else, Elites are a lot of firepower to have on your side, so it wouldn't be out of the question."

    "No. Actually, the thought of spreading the blight like that makes me uncomfortable. More pressing is the fact it's not exactly a stable reaction, and if there existed a way to consistently spread it like that..." ... that's scary, actually. The only reprive is the fact it doesn't seem to be *directed*, or *directable*. If it went from a force of nature to something more like a weapon... "You have a terrifying mind, Petra." It's a bit of a compliment.

"Hmm, you know, talking about Ichor as a kind of... radiation? That degrades over time in blood, actually makes me think about some things. Humans who fight have inherently denser 'life force', huh?"

    "As do powerful Revenants. But Revenant physiology and blood isn't quite the same. Bloodlines are sufficiently genetically apart that there can be averse reactions to having blood from multiple ones in your system. It's a little bit like blood types. Human blood is our O-negative."

"... Do they refrigerate the blood that they send to you?"

    "Ice-based Formae can be used on containers, but it doesn't really do anything to preserve Ichor. It's been a problem for a very long time, and people haven't found a solution." It's possibly because they put their best scientist in jail for ten thousand years. But who could say?
Angela ''Oh gross.''

"Haha," Roland says, pale. "Yeah." Shouldn't he be fucking used to this by now, he wonders to himself. Even in The City itself... but especially in a world like this... it's strange of him to be affected at all.

Roland definitely doesn't care about breaking the seal or whatever, he doesn't know these people at all and generally, in his experience, if someone was 'sealed away' it's probably for a pretty good reason. After all, if they were just some innocent person who was being annoying to the powers that be, they could just kill them. He thinks of Angela, also sealed away--essentailly--did she know this is what they were afer? Was she sympathetic to their imprisoned friend?

Probably not, he decides, but it's not like giving them a small hand was any skin off her back. But he does say, "Well, I don't know who that is." to the crew, whom he also doesn't really know. "But I'm pretty sure Tamamo's an expert in that sort of thing too--"

"I guess I just sort of felt like you were all so keen on solving everything on your own for the most part, but... Elites would help you. Even if it was a bad idea, honestly." Netzach adds that last bit as if it was a cheat code or state secret.

''Please don't insult my integrity.''

You are having us in a morgue as you show off your Jail and your hardblood arts and you're just acting like it's no big deal and you're acting offended we're a little on edge?? Roland thinks.

Out loud he says, "It's just a little bit spooky." instead of what he thinks. "Don't, uh, don't worry about it."

How the fuck is he going to have a bath here?? Roland thinks. "I think Sanatorium's are a little bit inherently spooky." He says.
Foundation Scions 'They're an ideal weapon against Horrors, despite being for fighting Revenants.'

    Quiet, "Of course imprisonment is viewed as a useful and reliable tool against the dangerous and unstable. It's so shocking how much backlash that sentiment sometimes gathers. Somehow, this place is far less irrational than I'd expected." Good luck, Mesmer. Jail doesn't mean that.

    When the segmented tail-jail (there's no funny way to combine those words down further) jumps towards Mesmer, she obviously stiffens up, steps back, and reaches for her raygun- it doesn't really matter to Mesmer how much of an actual attack it isn't; she's nervous, and has one response to fall back on for anything above a very-low threshold of threat.

    What's possibly more unexpected- at the motion, Matilda makes a quick effort to get in front of Mesmer, and push her (stumbling, a bit) back, to which the psychiatrist almost launches a rude comment. Arms wide-apart in a blocking motion, she can't actually perfect-match the moving stinger, to stay interspersed, but she's trying, "Doctor Asturias! Please, do not wave such things in front of my coworker! That is highly rude, and, I am asking you not to-"

    "Stop it, Matilda. It's obviously not a danger." That little spiel gave Mesmer just enough time, unfortunately, to re-gather her composure, and the first step after that requires proving that the help was actually unnecessary and annoying. That certainly saves face, at least to Mesmer, in the mirror. "But, you, and she-" "It's just a tool. Get out of the way."

    Still grossed out, wrinkle-nosed, Mesmer stares at it, "I don't recall having asked for a closer look." Tone steady, she still looks like she's barely coping with nausea. "Is this, 'standard'? Did your assistants out front also do this, are each and every one of you, combat phlebotomists?" Well they are vampires, so! Saying more words to not get more grossed out, "Those flaws do sound distressing. Good luck on fixing them. I don't have any insights for this, however. I'm not an expert on weapons."

    Still uncomfortable, and nervous for her sorta-friend, Matilda adds, with her arms crossed, a rare expression, "I think, the both of you should act and speak less bad-meaning of one another. Please do not put scary objects into each other's faces," A weird sigh, faster, "I, do not appreciate it. The tour has been very nice until now, and, er, I hope it will continue to be so, but!"

    Weirdly, rudely, Mesmer's response to this from Matilda is to flash Holly an embarrassed look, a little huffy eye-roll, at the squawking stuffed animal she herself dragged along with her.

'When it's a matter of curing what is slaughtering the last vestiges of life left, I think, such secrets are worth giving up.'

    Blinking, "What? What are you talking about?" That sounds distressingly genuine. Huh?
Holly Asturias "It's just a little bit spooky."

    "Is it?" says the Revenant, completely used to living in a terrible world, and also wearing her blood like fashion. "I think I need to get used to this." Simple. Factual.

"I think, the both of you should act and speak less bad-meaning of one another. Please do not put scary objects into each other's faces,"

    "A million apologies," Holly says genuinely, walking up to Matilda and putting her hand on her head, in a bit of a headpat or hair ruffle gesture. "I think it might be in all of our best interests if we move on from here." It's not a good room. Not when she hasn't fed in a bit. She can feel herself getting increasingly irate and disagreeable.

"What? What are you talking about?"

    "Though... was I unclear? Secrets don't benefit the dead. If by giving up the secrets of my bloodline I could save both Revenantkind and humankind... why wouldn't I? I can't think of anything I'd have to gain keeping my Formae to myself. No, in fact... that feels like a betrayal of what I've been working most of my life for."

    Holly, finally, claps her hands together, keeping them flat and next to her head, beaming a wide smile. It's a reset. Recentering herself. "Well! I do believe that's everything of note that might interest you here. If there are no objections, we can head to the baths, where you'll be able to speak with some patients if you wish, or even partake in some food, drinks, and the baths themselves. I might even have something I can demonstrate, but I'll need a volunteer. It's... a little bit invasive, but, I promise, painless, quick, and without consequence. I'll explain more once we're there."
Petra Soroka "No one else is . . . involved?"

    Lilian doesn't want this to turn into a full-blown argument, and so, Petra will bravely hold herself back from saying that Mesmer is embarrassing herself by daydreaming out loud about Lilian's marriage being open. However. Petra's eyes sliiiiide away awkwardly, because that's true, and Petra was the biggest hypegirl for the wedding, but sometimes things are complicated. A moment later, the medicine that spawned this conversational tangent enters her mind again, and Petra suddenly feels like she's done something illegal while also having done nothing at all.

"I don't think a member of the FDMO should be making that sort of racially insensitive remark on outreach."

    Petra pauses, and then turns towards Holly. "When the LSCC wants to work with you, you should make it extremely clear that you're hesitant to collaborate on research even though their reputation seems good because their representative, whose name is Annika Mesmer Jr., made such a bad impression on you that she seemed openly hostile. You should say all of that."

"What's so hard about playing into the story a little?!"

    Having vented some distress by being productive(?), Petra goes right back to enthusiastically babbling. "Right!!! Something no one ever thinks about this job, is how fucking, *multigenre* it is! You know, we're always getting up to some bullshit, right? I feel like no one ever takes seriously, how sometimes you're fighting a Kamen Rider villain who can blow up a city block but only leaves you with scratches and bruises, and sometimes it's *space Hitler* or something. Sure, it's all fighting, but it feels like a failing of language that there aren't different words for the types of fighting. Seriously, I don't even think this is a supervillain thing solely-- there's a giant gaping hole in what I feel like I can only call the *narrative behavioral theory* of multiversal work."

    Petra waves her hand. "And, like, of course *I'd* think like that. But if these people were serious about the idea of talking with your fists, then they'd realize that there's *semantics* to all of it too. I feel like I could write a paper on this. *Sundew* could be the whole key example."

"Hang on. Let me show you, actually."

    Petra did not know what a Jail was. She imagined some sort of cube, or something, that you throw at someone, and then it... slurps Ichor out of them. While they're trapped. You know, like a jail.

    Now she has to reassess whether she's misheard 'Tail' every single time, then decide she couldn't possibly because everyone else keeps saying Jail and Holly agrees with those conversation topics. The *splatter of blood* that comes out when she summons it makes Petra stiffen up in an entirely different way from either Lilian or Mesmer, enough thoughts running through her head that the letters overlap into gibberish.

    Silently, possessed by some unspoken urge, Petra takes the bottle full of metallic fluid out of her letterman's pocket and uncorks it. She upends it behind herself, where the Silver stretches out into a rippling fluidic tail from the base of her spine. Formless at first, then it whips across its full length, interlocking metal vertebrae 'shwink'ing into existence in a rapid cascade, ending with a stinger just like the Jail.

    She stares at the two, Silver and gold, for a few seconds. Surely she's thinking about *something*, but all she says is, "Neat," in a quiet voice before the Silver pours itself back into the FullBottle.
Petra Soroka "There's a slight delay, there's Ichor loss in the process, and it tends to leave the user vulnerable while it's doing its thing."

    Petra tilts her head. "The problem is that, the weapon developed by humans to fight Revenants, is inefficient at being used as a feeding proboscis by Revenants who coopted the weapon?"

"You have a terrifying mind, Petra."

    "You don't know the half of it." Petra really has done some horrible things out of her singleminded obsession on results! However, the thing that's on her mind when she says that is what Mesmer and Lilian were talking about earlier.

"A million apologies,"

    Petra frowns a tiny bit at Holly putting her hand on Matilda's head. It's demeaning, obviously, and Petra's sensitivity to unwanted physical touch was reactivated by Holly right when she stepped out of the warpgate, and so Matilda is immediately categorized as an ally here to be sorted above her fellow Partner for the moment.

    Petra brushes Holly's hand off of Matilda's head, with a lightly insistent amount of force. "Matilda really is doing her best. So, she really shouldn't be treated like she's clueless."

"I might even have something I can demonstrate, but I'll need a volunteer."

    "At the baths? Oh, no. No no. Not me. I'll be busy. Try, uh," She was about to offer up Roland as the one person she can easily boss around here, but one look at him makes her hesitate. She purses her lips, looking at him first probingly, then sympathetically. "Well, there's others."
Holly Asturias Petra Silver-Jail.

    "That is-- oh my. You learned to do that just by watching me do it? Not just terrifying, you're fascinating too! I'm not sure about the color, though..."

"The problem is that, the weapon developed by humans to fight Revenants, is inefficient at being used as a feeding proboscis by Revenants who coopted the weapon?"

    "Oh, they're not all proboscis-shaped," Holly says, missing the point entirely, "There's a number of different models, each with different specifications. Some are more suited to offense, some defense, some have more range. I favor a long-range offensive option. It suits me better." Isn't she a doctor?

"Matilda really is doing her best. So, she really shouldn't be treated like she's clueless."

    "Was this... gauche?" Holly doesn't seem to take it poorly at all. When Petra releases her hand, she looks at it for a second, then towards Matilda, apologetically. "Of course. I meant it as an endearing gesture, but... hm. My patients don't usually mind being treated this way...?" ONE WONDERS WHY. Petra won't even need two guesses to figure it out. "I'll adapt."

"At the baths? Oh, no. No no. Not me. I'll be busy."

    "Really, anyone would do, as long as they're... nominally human, which you all seem to be. I suppose I can ask Nicole, too, though I thought it might leave more of an impression with one of you. A little taste of the boons we Revenants have learned to grant humans, to empower them - without the need for a Jail, though the tradeoff is the short-term nature of it."