The glow of the near noon sun radiates out into the living area of the ranch style house. Bach steps through the archway from the hallway, stretching out his shoulders with a roll. Rocking his head side to side, he stops and scans the room for any activity. Sounds of kitchen metal snatches his attention, and he steps forward towards the kitchen area. With a quick peek, he studies the food in the middle of preparation upon the counter top. Leaning closer, Bach furrows his brow, noting the different ingredients of the forming meal. He pauses with the tall presence next to him. Glancing up with an awkward, innocent smirk at Dretphi, Bach scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. "Hey... Uh... Just curious what's for lunch."

Gradually easing the stern, stoic gaze into a humored, warm smile, Dretphi rests a covered pot upon the counter top and brushes back her platinum blonde braids. "Remnant soup. Nothing special."

Bach stands back up straight and cocks his head curiously to the side inquiringly. "Remnant soup?"

With a nonchalant shrug of her defined shoulders, Dretphi sighs amused. "My mother calls it that. Soup made from the remaining ingredients you have... After you have cooked all other meals. Before you go to the grocery store."

Nodding understandingly, Bach steps back, granting Dretphi space to cook, and studies the assorted collection of vegetables, seasonings, and other edible bits. "Well, I mean, it looks like it'll be good when you are done with it."

Dretphi smiles appreciatively and gently directs Bach out of the kitchen. "I hope so. We shall see."

Wandering back into the living area, Bach walks along the side of the dining table and glances around for the source of a new noise. With a stream of faint clicks filling the soundscape near the couch, Cideeda types upon a laptop. She adjusts her head upon a couch pillow, flexes her fingers briefly, and studies a screen of numeric figures and charts. Her toes claws idly press onto the fabric of the couch cushion, and her long tail wags out from underneath her drawn up knees. Seconds of her emerald green eyes analyzing the screen later, she sighs with a trailing grumble and clacks her finger claws upon the sides of the weathered, worn, and heavily retrofitted laptop. Approaching slowly, Bach pries with an intrigued tone. "Huh. I've never seen that laptop before."

Cideeda tilts her head up briefly, glancing at Bach, and drops her attention back upon the computer resting on her stomach. "Oh. Yeah. It's my old one. I like to keep it well protected and out of the way, since it's got my personal stuff on it..."

Rolling her eyes, she smirks, curling the corner of her mouth with a hint of stale frustration. "AND, it's gotten REALLY cranky with age and repairs. So, it spends most of its time in a protective case."

Gazing over towards the dining table and the boxes near it, Bach points a thumb over his shoulder. "Make sense. So, um, any projects you need help with today? Still feeling a bit sore, so I don't really want to do anything too physical today."

Searching her mind between flicks of her furry ears, Cideeda nods her head and deliberates. "Yeah... There are a few things I've been meaning to get your help with. Also, I need to show you a few things about locking mechanisms. Maybe see how you can apply that magical angle of yours."

She taps a gentle claw tip on the laptop's screen. "Let me take care of a few things here, first, and then I'll see what we can do."

Bach gradually slides his curiosity over and directs the topic towards what's on the screen. "If you don't mind me asking... What are you doing right now?"

With a sly grin curling on her light brown face, Cideeda clacks upon a few keys and guides a cursor on the screen through a few menus. "Oh. Just managing my future fortunes and seeing where I need to invest my money next."

Bach snorts lightly with an amused smirk and settles his intrigue upon the gamut of graphs and number tickers on the display. "I mean, I can't say I'm surprised you are playing the markets."

Lifting a humored eyebrow, he quips with a short grin. "Working those hot tips and making the split seconds trades for the big payouts?"

Cideeda laughs, rolls her eyes with a smirk, and slowly shakes her head upon the couch pillow. "Oh. Gods. No. THAT type of day trading has always seemed like needlessly abstracted gambling to me."

Perking her brow, she gazes up to Bach with a sinister, toothy grin. "I prefer to SEE the faces of the people who I'm taking money from, if I'm going to gamble."

She pushes herself up, resting her back against the couch arm and stretches her legs out, resettling the portable computer upon her lap. "I stay away from all that short term trading business. Not saying you can't make some money that way..."

Furrowing her brow, she twists her mouth, a faint grumble in her undertone. "You're more likely to be fighting to break even than anything else, unless you make it your full time job. And even THAT isn't a guarantee."

She rests her fingers upon her chest and straightens her posture. "I am playing the long game. So, I go after companies that have proven dividend payouts and stable share value. That's about as risky as I'm going to get with my retirement portfolio."

Lifting a humored eyebrow, she chuckles softly. "Anyway, I'm not looking to strike it rich with this money. Gods. I'd just end up worried all the time if I was going to lose it in the next minute."

With his interest piquing, Bach leans over for a better view of Cideeda's laptop screen. A few moments of watching the information stream upon the screen later, he grits his teeth briefly and sheepishly admits. "You know... I wouldn't mind getting some advice on investing money... Since... Well..."

He blinks in thought a moment and tilts his head to the side. "I actually have free money to do so. For once."

A spark of excitement lights up Cideeda's eyes. She pivots upon the couch, slides over to the middle seat, and pats the spot next to her. "Well! Let me give you the introductory lesson! Have a seat."

Bach pauses at the sudden shift in attitude, slides behind the coffee table, and lowers himself in the seat next to Cideeda, awaiting further instruction. Cideeda quickly taps her claw tips on the laptop keys and brings up a few simple informational graphics and charts. "Now, you can search all over the aethernet, and you'll get every get rich plan in the world. But, I've found the bucket system to work nicely for me."

Studying the pictures on the screen, Bach glances over and patiently waits. Cideeda draws in a long breath, and her genuine interest slips through into her explanation. "Simply, your different accounts are buckets. Your first bucket is going to be your guild account. They don't pay much interest, if any, in those accounts. But..."

She flicks up her fingers with her points. "No fees, easy access, and no restrictions."

Motioning towards the screen, she continues. "So, you'll want to fill that bucket to a point where you should be able to handle three months worth of expenses. Then, you can start to fill other buckets. These could be savings and low risk investment accounts. Once, you get the amounts distributed sufficiently across the board, then you get into the riskier..."

A toothy grin widens on Cideeda, and an eager glint flashes in her emerald eyes. "AND exciting markets."

Bach gradually nods, information sinking in, and glances over to Cideeda. "Okay... I mean, that all makes sense. Limit liability and all that. So... Once I get to the point of getting into the riskier markets, what do you recommend then?"

Tapping the fingertips on her hands together with an intrigued twist of her mouth, Cideeda furrows her brow. "Well... I prefer the long term game. So, first, invest in what you know and understand. I've been burned on investing into companies whose markets I didn't quite know as well as I should."

She points out a list of company names with industry categories to Bach and leads his attention around. "Second, I would always keep a diverse portfolio. Nothing will drive you crazier than watching one large investment in a single company tank. That will unnerve you to do something silly in a frantic state of mind. Diversified portfolio will buffer those bad days, so you aren't as tempted to panic."

Shrugging her shoulders, she sighs. "And... Don't get discouraged by the daily fluctuations..."

With a slightly annoyed lift of her eyebrow at a downwards trend on a chart, she grumbles. "Despite how frustrating they may be."

Bach frowns slightly at the offending graph, noticing the annoyance drooping down Cideeda's furry ears, and broaches a new topic. "Um... Yeah. So, any favorite companies you've put your money into?"

Perking her furry ears back up, Cideeda's claw tips clack out commands and a short list of companies appears on the laptop screen. "Of course! There's Arc and Spark Munitions, Faraday Aetherwave, MercMart, and..."

Narrowing his stare at a company name on the screen, Bach slowly slides his questioning gaze over to Cideeda and lifts an inquisitive, slightly incredulous eyebrow. "Pancake Shed?"

Cideeda meets Bach's eyes and dismissively smiles, pointing out a set of statistics on the screen. "Hey. Don't let the storefront appearances fool you. They have been consistent performers when it comes to dividends. Plus..."

Donning a wide, toothy grin, she chuckles smugly. "I'm just trying to get back some of the money I've given them over the years. Just investing on the other side of the business arrangement, so to speak."

With the cut off of running water, Dretphi leaves the kitchen area, drying her hands on a towel. She wanders over to the other side of the couch, glances over to the laptop screen, and politely inquires. "Could you bring up Diamond Defense? I am curious about its performance."

Cideeda sorts through a few screens on the computer, finds the trading symbol, and opens up a very promising monthly graph. "WOW. Should have gotten in when you did. Might have to buy a few shares if it keeps this up."

A tinge of excitement emerges upon Dretphi's tan face, and she reads the statistics and trends. "It was a risk. Loss of a core workshop was hard to come back from. They did not lose that defense contract. THAT saved them."

Tightly smiling, Cideeda eyes over to Dretphi, slightly narrowing her gaze. "Well... Next time your house hears about tips like THAT, let me know as soon as you can."

Pausing in thought a moment, Cideeda grins eagerly towards the screen and switches to another program on her computer. "That reminds me..."

With glints in her emerald eyes, she stares expectantly up to Dretphi. "Someone is going to need a NEW set of armor!"

Twisting her mouth, Dretphi averts her gaze humbly, sighing calmly. "Replacement plates. New boots. New helmet. A new suit is not needed."

Bach notices the slight nudge of Cideeda's elbow into his arm, catching her winking to him. Cideeda opens up a browser to an aethernet site, and the display loads up with the Diamond Defense logo header. Images of different armor sets appear on the screen, and Cideeda angles the laptop screen towards Dretphi with a scheming smile. "Are you sure? Looks like they just released the latest lines."

Dretphi's steely gray eyes sneak down, lock onto the screen, and focus upon the product imagery appearing. She blinks away and crosses her arms resolutely, attempting to quell her desires with frugal logic. "It would be prudent to replace the missing parts. Cost effective option."

Smiling and scratching her chin with a claw tip, Cideeda playfully sighs. She visibly exaggerates the act of searching her mind and thinks out loud with an unconvinced tone. "That's... Technically... True. But, I'm quite certain with a little negotiation and effort on our part... And, factoring the growing amount of maintenance the old suit is starting to need..."

A sly grin curls at her corner of Cideeda's mouth, and she explains. "I don't think the difference in the long run would be that much."

The line of thought piques Dretphi's attention, and she twists a grimace, contemplating the logistics. "It has become DIFFICULT to mend the under armor. The fasteners are fraying. Cleaning has NEVER been easy."

Her tan face sours with the long term annoyance materializing, and she grumbles to herself. "After each wash, it faintly smells of slime... STILL..."

Cideeda briefly snarls her upper lip, gritting her teeth, and sighs loudly. "YEAH. It LINGERS much longer than you know."

Scrutinizing Cideeda closely, Bach narrows an investigative stare at her. "I really can't shake this feeling there's something you're trying to work here."

With emboldened guilt, Cideeda grins and nods, holding her hands upwards. "A little. I have been wanting another body suit, and it's easier to work discounts on larger group purchases rather than an individual purchase."

She gazes right at Bach with a sly smile and pokes a finger claw gently into Dretphi's arm. "Speaking of which, I think someone needs a new duster?"

Dretphi briefly glances away from browsing on the laptop towards Bach and nods in complete agreement. "YES. Sleeves are beyond repair. Fabric is thin. Charred. I would NOT trust it on a mission. You need a new duster."

The trio settle upon the couch, taking turns pointing to the latest sales and deals. Studying the picture of new armor plating, Dretphi asks eagerly. "Do the armor covers come in red?"

----

With a long, uncomfortable sigh, Trakenthin lowers his aetherphone from his ear, staring at the end of call screen, and briefly grits his teeth. Drawing a slow, calming breath, he tries rolling some of the tension out his shoulders and straightens his posture. He scans around his bedroom and idly coasts his stare across the armor on the stand, the boxes of equipment stacked up, the great sword hung in its sheath, and the laptop on his desk. He levels his attention upon his bedroom door, steps forth, and opens the exit to the second floor hallway. Surveying the empty hall, he glances around to the other bedroom doors for Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, Veevi, and Chad. Pausing for a moment, Trakenthin angles his ear towards Chad's room, catching the sounds of activity slipping out from the cracked open door. He twists his face in concentration and drifts into frustration, failing to decipher anything from the muffled tones. Distantly down the stairwell, Veevi's faint whines of curses grate against the peaceful ambiance upstairs. At the peak of her fit, Trakenthin cringes with a snarl of his upper lip. A bit of relief emerges upon his dark bronze face with the fading squabble, and he walks slowly towards Chad's bedroom door. Stepping forward, he furrows his brow to the task, his face growing more stoic and neutral. He knocks on Chad's door. From inside the room, activity halts momentarily, and Chad's voice rises up. "Oh, uh... Come in?"

Calmly pushing the door open, Trakenthin turns and faces Chad. "Sorry to interrupt?"

Chad gazes up from examining himself in a reflective spot of the shield in his hands and nods towards Trakenthin with a smirk. "Hey. What's new?"

Lifting his eyebrow curiously at the shield, Trakenthin blinks back to focus back on Chad. With hesitation straining his voice, he winces slightly. "Oh. Want to inform you my... Father will visit tonight. Again. After lunch... Stay for dinner. I hope it is not a problem."

Pondering to himself momentarily, Chad flashes his trademark white smile towards Trakenthin and shakes his head. "Of course not! I'm quite happy you're spending some time with your father after so many years. And, his stories from serving in the defense against the Red Gear Uprising are amazing!"

Weakly smiling, Trakenthin thinks quietly, his eyes searching his mind, and slightly grits his teeth. Moments later, he nods in halfhearted agreement. "Stories they are."

Glancing down at his Flames of the Phoenix branded shield, Chad happily points out a very reflective section of metal. "I took his advice with cleaning up the spots on my shield. And... It's turning out GREAT."

He motions over to his desk and points out the bottle of cola, a cut lime, and salt shaker next to the rag covered bowl. "I was getting some oxidation around the edges where the lacquer has worn off a bit, and this stuff takes it right off."

A small genuine smile appears in the corner of Trakenthin's mouth, and he sighs, hints of pride showing. "He is knowledgeable in that field."

Sliding his gaze over to Trakenthin, Chad studies rigid body language and hesitant expression, cocking his head to the side. "Hey, Trakenthin. Are you okay? I mean, you don't seem to be all that excited to see your father. I'm not sure if that's grath stoicism happening or not."

He furrows his curios tan brow. "I don't mean to pry, but is there anything I should know?"

Trakenthin's hazel eyes widen briefly, and he grumbles uncomfortably to himself, briefly angling away from the attention. With an awkward grin, Chad holds up his hand. "Hey. If it's a touchy subject, I'm cool with staying away from it."

Shaking his head side to side, Trakenthin frowns slightly and groans softly. "No... The subject is fine. It is just hard to relate, correctly."

He quietly hunts for the words in his mind, stitching together a concise explanation. "He is my birth father. He is... NOT... my house father. Has not been for a DECADE."

Chad drifts off in a flurry of thought, visibly processing the meaning. Arriving at some kind of understanding, he nods. "OH. Okay. Huh. Sorry to hear that. That must have been tough."

Trakenthin crosses his arms and shrugs his shoulders, contemplating the sentiment. "Parts were. Better overall."

He grumbles thoughtfully and slowly shakes his head of short, dirty blonde hair. "It is strange now. Difficult to know how to act."

Donning an awkward grin, Chad sways his head side to side, pondering out loud. "Yeah... I guess it would be. I mean, I don't know. My dad and I don't always see eye to eye on things. But, we get along for the most part..."

He curls a corner of his mouth toward frown and sneers his upper lip, a few memories popping to front of his mind. "On the other hand... My dad and grandfather. NOW, those two barely tolerate each other. My grandfather was and is an adventurer today. But, my dad started and runs a used equipment dealership chain."

He blinks a few times and straightens his posture uncertainly. "I guess THAT was his way of rebelling against his dad? I don't know."

Fumbling for a justification, Chad contorts his tan, clean shaven face, and narrows his brown eyes. "There are moments they seem to enjoy being around each other. But... The rest of the time? Gods. They barely can stay in the same room for a few minutes before the other tries to find ANY reason to leave."

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He breaks off from the subject and returns his attention towards Trakenthin. With a goofy grin, he scratches the back of his short, brown, coiffed hair covered head. "Sorry, man. Wandered off on my own problems there. Don't know if that's anything like your troubles... But, I'll try to be understanding?"

Trakenthin internally deliberates over the sentiment, settling into a slow nodding acceptance. "It is similar. Thank you for relating."

A genuine smile appears on Chad's face, and he commiserates with a sympathetic eye roll. "Yeah. I guess parent issues are pretty universal."

Perking up a curious eyebrow at Trakenthin, he carefully approaches a question. "So, how long has it been since you've seen your father?"

Drawing in a long breath, Trakenthin exhales calmly, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Years since in person. He occasionally writes. Visits were not often due to circumstances."

Chad tilts his head to the side, inquiring further. "Circumstances?"

A humored smirk appears on Trakenthin's face, and he explains. "Father travels. Not in the area often. Other circumstances..."

He furrows his brow with a grimace. "My birth mother wants nothing of him. Fully justified. My three other house mothers have promised him shallow burials."

Chad snorts in amusement briefly and halts, mentally reviewing the last statement. "Wait. Burials? PLURAL?"

Trakenthin's hazel gaze widens, and he slowly, dramatically nods with a stern frown. "YES. Never been told what would happen before that point. Do not want to know. Plausible deniability is what my house mother calls it."

Gradually shaking the imagined possibilities out of his head, Chad props the shield up on the floor against the side of the desk and stands up, brushing his pants off. With a charismatic bright smile, he steps next to Trakenthin and pats Trakenthin on the side of the shoulder, donning a sure, bold tone. "Well, if he gives you too much trouble, let me know and I'll show him the door."

Trakenthin focuses a judging, slightly incredulous stare at Chad, slowly letting it fade into an appreciative, humored smirk. "Will keep that in mind. I will try to suffer him for now. Seems to be behaving. See how long THAT lasts."

Pulling his phone out briefly, Chad checks the clock on the display, pats Trakenthin on shoulder again, and leads out into the hallway. "Well. It's showtime. Time to see what everyone has been up to today for the cameras."

The two move down the second floor hallway. Veevi's berating competes with Tassilda's condemnations, the conflict echoing up the stairwell. Both Chad and Trakenthin roll their eyes at the cacophony, and they gather their willpower for the descent down the stairs.

----

Off to the side and away from the aisles upon aisles of merchandise in the massive MercMart store, Sotalia stands outside in an open area next to a dressing room. She waits expectantly, her gaze wandering across the many mannequins covered in various armor attire with displays filled full of advertising literature. Wagging her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda bounces her inspecting stare between two large under armor suits and narrows her comparison upon the small details of the garments. Bach glances around apprehensively at a clothing rack of various dusters, jackets, and trench coats, contemplating one choice before sliding over the next. Sitting in a chair, Aristespha sorts through numbers on a spreadsheet upon the display of her phone, idly tapping the sword at her side. Seconds later, Dretphi emerges from a dressing room door, walks out between everyone, and stretches out in a gray, thick full body outfit. "I am not sure about this one."

Cideeda turns around and scrutinizes the rough fit of the suit, orbiting around Dretphi. "Yeah... That one really seems like it's designed for much heavier plating. Admittedly, the extra armor around the joints is nice with the thicker outer shell, since you are using moderate coverage plating."

Sotalia quirks an eyebrow, twisting her mouth blatantly unsatisfied, and slowly shakes her head. "Gods, girl. It's really bulky looking. And, certainly not really flattering at all. How well can you move in it?"

Dretphi rehearses through a number of stances, executes a few maneuvers, and slowly explores the resistance with common motions. Watching, Bach frowns slightly and slowly shakes his head. "Yeah... I mean, it's like you're fighting the suit a little to just move normally."

Grimacing with growing dissatisfaction, Dretphi stands back up from a squat, rolls her shoulders, and fidgets uncomfortably in the heavy suit of under armor. "It is stiff. Not flexible for what I need."

She slowly shakes her head of platinum blonde braids. "Not this one."

Nodding in agreement, Cideeda lifts up one of the under armor suits towards Dretphi with a confident smile. "Okay. Given the last few you tried and how your old suit was, I think THIS one should be really close to the mark."

Dretphi grabs hold of the garment, studies it briefly, and walks back towards the dressing room. "It looks similar to my old under armor."

Cideeda grins toothily, perking up her furry ears, and lifts a sly eyebrow. "Well... It is the latest Diamond Defense medium-grade under armor. So, it should have the same characteristics as your old suit."

With Dretphi slipping through the dressing room door, Sotalia crosses her arms and flashes a curious glance to Dretphi with a slight sway. "Oh. Before you try that one, could you give the one I found for you a try?"

Dretphi pauses a moment, nods to Sotalia, and closes the door. "I will try that one now."

Wandering over a bit aimlessly, Bach surveys the selection of under armor garments, next to Cideeda. "Wow. There are a lot of options with this type of armor. And, it doesn't seem as expensive as what I've always heard them to be, though."

Cideeda pops up on the balls of her feet and hangs a prior rejected suit back up on the rack. Dropping back down, she lays out the turned down, thick gray under armor and gazes up to Bach. With a smirk, she counts out on her clawed fingers, punctuating. "WELL... That's just for the armor pieces themselves. A LOT of the true cost comes from fitting the suit to your dimensions. Then, there's adjusting the plating fasteners to work with the coverage and style you are using. Also, you can't forget all the many, small customizations you will want to meet those specific needs."

With a frugal spark in her emerald eyes. she grins slyly and taps the clawtips on her hands together. "But... We are fortunate enough to have a good range skills in our group. Between Dretphi, you, and myself, we've got everything covered."

Blinking a few times, Bach ponders, visible confusion manifesting, and furrows his brow, seeking clarification. Cideeda smiles confidently, resting a hand on her hip, and points a thumb over her shoulder towards the dressing room. "Dretphi can sew anything on the suit to her liking."

She combs her fingers through her short, multi-colored hair, and grins. "I can adjust and tweak the plating and accessories."

Pointing at Bach, she shrugs her shoulders. "And, you can handle the finishing touches."

Tilting his head to the side, Bach puzzles quietly for a few moments and aims an expectant stare at Cideeda. Seconds later, Cideeda rolls emerald green her eyes playfully. Flexing her fingers in front of her, she mimics a series of magical gestures and gazes up at Bach with an amused smirk. "Enchanting. Those last ones saved her a few times. SO, I think she's going to definitely want a fresh set upon her new plating."

Bach's pride cringes, remembering the blatantly obvious, and he smiles with a sigh. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I keep forgetting..."

Cideeda narrows an incredulous stare at Bach, twisting her mouth, and rests both hands on her hips. "You keep forgetting you can do ridiculous magical stuff?"

Frowning briefly, Bach wrestles between the words and emotion. "Well, I, uh, no. I just- I mean... I guess I'm just still getting used to being included in on projects because of my magical skills? I mean, after not having anything worth mentioning magically... It kinda stops being the first thing you assume people are talking about?"

With an awkward smile, he scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair and fidgets uncertainly. "Did that make any sense?"

Cideeda smiles genuinely and nods slowly to Bach, sighing. "It did. I think I understand."

She reveals a toothy grin, perks up her furry ears, and wags her tail. "Also... You could definitely assist in a bit of reworking of the old plating for an idea I had."

Sotalia's golden eyes spring wide open, her pointed ear catching a gasp and mumbles of grath in an obviously embarrassed tone from the dressing room. Stepping close to the door, Sotalia knocks and curiously inquires, a smile creeping out. "Everything okay in there?"

Dretphi's voice radiates uneasily from the other side of the room with an awkward cadence. "Yes... This suit has an... Unexpected fit..."

Sotalia puzzles blankly, searching her mind, narrows an inquisitive stare, and tries to push open the door. "Oh, girl. What are you talking about?"

Tapping around the slide lock on the other side, she rolls her golden eyes impatiently and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Come on. Let me see. I did pick it out for you."

Seconds later, the lock slides open, and Sotalia peeks her head around the cracked open door, angling a swept back horn around the door frame. "OKAY. What are you talking about..."

A mischievous grin grows upon Sotalia's light tan face, and she chuckles evilly. "Oh. What are you so worried about? There's absolutely nothing wrong with something that accentuates your figure that well. Come on out!"

Another grumble of grath from Dretphi slips out from behind the door. Sotalia sighs, slowly shaking her head. "It's not bad at all. And, you did say that the light blue color looked okay. I think it works for you."

Cideeda's furry ear flicks back from the conversation at the dressing room door. Pivoting around, she walks over next to Sotalia and slips her head in for a peek. "Okay, what's going on here?"

Pausing a moment, she cocks her head and flicks her ears around contemplatively. "OH. Yeah, that is DEFINITELY much more form fitting than your old suit."

Aristespha blinks to attention away from her phone, stands up, and steps over to the gathering. "Gods, now I am curious. Whatever are we dealing with?"

Peering around the door, she halts and studies in silence, covering her mouth. She steps away and walks back to her seat, searching her mind and idly tapping at the sword. "Oh. THAT design was obviously inspired by one of those animated action movies. Or, some video game."

Sebastian's voice softly emanates from the sword, inquiringly. "You mean the ones with revealing outfits and impossible body physics, dear?"

Sotalia crosses her arms defiantly, stares unamused at the nearby detractors, and pouts shaking her head. Her gaze falls upon Bach, distracting himself with an informational literature next to a display. A devilish grin cracks from the corner of Sotalia's mouth, and she quips. "Well. Let's get another opinion from a different perspective... Oh, Ba-"

Her voice cuts out abruptly, ceasing short of carrying her words too far, and she cringes with a reflexive lean. Cideeda glares right at Sotalia, releases her cautionary grip upon Sotalia's side, and closes the dressing room door. "Try the other one out, Dretphi."

Sotalia sighs with a grumble in fvalian. With an apologetic phrase in fvalian, Cideeda slowly shakes her head. Walking away, she snaps an accusatory squint right at Sotalia and mouths out a few fvalian words. Sotalia rolls her eyes dismissively with a playful smile. Minutes later, Dretphi emerges in a suit similar to her old suit. Exercising a few maneuvers and common movements, she smiles happily, growing more satisfied with each test of the garment. With a few final series of mock attack and defense motions, she stands content in front of the team. "This one. It feels right. I can move in it freely. Similar to my old suit."

Cideeda gives a thumbs up to Dretphi and points towards nearby tall racks of plating in a plentiful gamut of sizes, shapes, materials, and colors. "Good. NOW, let's try out some plates. They got all the latest designs."

Dretphi eagerly walks over to the expansive selection, surveying the products before her, and plucks up an example piece. Crossing her light brown arms in thought, Cideeda taps her foot, quietly deliberating. She steps next to Sotalia and directs a quiet question. "So... Where did you find THAT particular suit?"

Sotalia smirks slyly, brushes back her fiery orange, wavy hair, and points over to a display rack a distance away. "Over there. There are a few other styles, too."

Arriving at the overwhelming line up of armor plates upon many levels of rack space, Bach stands in awe, analysis paralysis seizing his mind. Situational awareness returns to him, and he notices Dretphi standing next to him patiently with an example plate in hand. "Oh... Uh, Yes?"

Dretphi smiles warmly and presents the plate, biting her lower lip slightly. "Could you put a barrier enchantment on this?"

Bach picks up the plate in his hands, examines the construction, and slowly nods. "Yeah. I don't think it'd be that much different than before."

Lifting a curious brow to Bach, she inquires further. "Could the color be red instead of gold?"

----

High above, a gust of wind blows through the thinning forests along the sides of the highway. The afternoon sun slowly settles into an orange horizon, the edge of the world gradually reddening towards an evening hue. The breeze stirs Meredosia's long, gray hair against her ivory skinned face. Walking alongside the roadway, she adjusts her old backpack and brushes off her worn hoodie. She grimaces briefly and works an uncomfortable spot out of her frayed blue jeans. Seconds of checking the course ahead later, her crimson eyes wander around the rural landscape on either side of the roadway, gazing distantly into the peaceful scenery. Sighing heavily with a slight droop of her long, pointed ears, she occasionally smiles at the brief appearances of wildlife peeking out nearby from under the cover of trees and over tall grasses.

Minutes passing on by, the ambient glow from the horizon shifts to a warm red and tinges of evening purple crest the opposite side of the world. The lone evuukian woman arrives at the top of a taller hill and pauses a moment, gazing ahead. With widening eyes, Meredosia scans the land before her and watches the distant lights of the suburban sprawl. She studies the scene ahead of her, an uncertain mix of fear and apprehension contorting her ivory face, and draws long calming breaths. After the sounds of traffic stir her back to awareness, she musters her courage and steps forward.

Continuing her journey into the sparse outskirts, she sinks into her own thoughts, occasionally staring out, surveying the changing landscape. In brief moments, she smirks at familiar sights, often staring uneasily at the unfamiliar aspects. The sky overhead darkens from purple to dark blue with the waxing moon brightly contrasting, defiant of the ambient city lights. Her thoughts visibly wander inward, and her dark red eyes sort through her mind. Walking along the side of the highway with nearby moderate traffic, she loses awareness of the world surrounding her for minutes per spell. The toe of her boot taps up against a concrete curb. Her consciousness snaps back to the path ahead. She stares ahead towards the distant inner city upon the horizon and the highlighting glow of urban activity. Surveying the forming sprawl around her, she notices a huge, tall sign off the roadway, over to the side of the sidewalk in front of her.

"Welcome to Amaranth Valley."

Reading the sign, Meredosia's crimson eyes widen, and she slowly assumes a stern gaze ahead towards the city. Tightening her grip on her backpack straps, she briefly grits her teeth and slowly exhales her nerves. She dons a cool, calm exterior, reaches into her jeans pocket, and pulls out an old wallet. Opening the billfold, she sorts through old government IDs, worn business cards, and a very modest amount of money. A surge of uncertainty floods her, and she stares distantly ahead. Seconds later, the wave of emotion subsides, and determination boils up to the surface. She returns her wallet to her pants pocket. Hesitating briefly, she puts one foot ahead upon the sidewalk and resumes her journey into Amaranth Valley.

----

With a pair of chopsticks, Isaac clamps hold of a slice of beef out of a take out box and pops the piece of food into his mouth, pointing the wooden sticks towards a document on the table. "And, those are my notes from exploring that one hidden base near Hattan."

Pausing a moment to enjoy a few more morsels of dinner, he glances at the logo on the takeout carton, nostalgically remarking. "Gods... I have forgotten how good this place is. They have NOT changed a bit."

Dr. Dawkins chuckles to himself and scans over the documents, pictures, and information upon the large, antique dining table. "That they haven't. Even the very same owner still, too."

Picking up papers and printouts, he skims through stack after stack, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. "So FASCINATING... I can't quite make out what you have found. BUT... It is significant."

Isaac slowly nods, sighing with hints of frustration in his voice. "And, this latest discovery wasn't even a remote thought in my mind. The scope of my investigations were aimed in a completely different direction."

Reaching over the table top, he taps upon a folder of documents, tilting his head to the side. "I got my original list of locations to explore from the remote radio outpost. Quite a few possibilities on there. Admittedly, it took some serious effort to decipher the coordinates."

His attention slides over to a small stack of written notes interleaved with paper and graphite rubbings of rough symbols, and he narrows his gray eyes upon the pile. "Surprisingly, quite a few of those locations had ancient elder energy structures that were still quite functional. One, unfortunately, had fallen into wrong and dangerous hands. But... I remedied that."

Dr. Dawkins perks up his eyebrow and levels an inquisitive stare at Isaac. "What exactly was going on, and..."

Furrowing his brow, he tilts his head to the side. "How did you remedy it?"

Isaac meets Dr. Dawkins' gaze, frowning slightly, and sighs out a mix of disappointment and frustration. "No one was hurt... Physically. I did manage to severely wound the ego of a very self-righteous leader of one of those damned Terra Priest cult groups. It is actually quite the shame. That young evuukian woman had figured out how to control elder energy, presumably by herself. And... Was able to pull it into and from an energy storage amulet."

Twisting his mouth, mild sadness emerges upon his aged face, and he slowly shakes his head of wild gray white hair. "If she just wasn't so caught up in her delusions, she had the potential to become a great pupil and possibly help with future breakthroughs."

With a long sigh and slump of the shoulders, Isaac tugs at the corner of his frown, grimacing. "I really despised having to ruin that elder energy dais and the amulet. BUT, after seeing those who were trying to use it, I could NOT leave it functional. Too much risk."

Slowly nodding in total agreement, Dr. Dawkins grumbles loudly with a curling sneer of his upper lip. "You did the right thing there. Truth to be told, I've had the misfortune of running into a number of the more inane groups in my career... Multiple times. Depending on where you were setting up, you always had to check the area for any signs of Terra Priests, Red Gears, or government privateers."

Rolling his green eyes, Dr. Dawkins groans with stale aggravation. "Gods, we practically had to pay monthly rent to a number of local gangs and mobs just to keep them not only out of business, but to keep them quiet about it, too!"

Isaac exhales in commiseration with Dr. Dawkins. Picking a few choice pieces of beef out of the takeout box, he settles back into his chair at the table and gazes upon a battered laptop's display filled with electronic document text. "After taking the pictures, I had to pull all the data I could from Dr. Malkav's research."

Slowly shaking his head, Isaac frowns. "But... Unfortunately, it's not exactly what I need. There seems to be hints and overviews of his initial vague theories, but none of the specifics I need to see."

Dr. Dawkins picks up the photograph of Bach in flight carrying Sotalia within a cavernous pit, bringing it close, and studies it, tracing his finger along the bright white aura surrounding Bach. "I can't fault you there. But, you might want to be careful accessing the Grand Library in the future. While I haven't heard that much lately... they've been uncharacteristically quiet recently. Which usually means SOMETHING happened to spook the higher ups."

Lifting a curious eyebrow, Isaac ponders the advisement, gradually nodding into agreement. "Thank you for the warning. I had thought my access to the system after so long might seem quite strange. So, I made sure to pull everything I could..."

With a sly smile, he softly laughs. "From a random location in the woods near an outskirts aethernet tower that I don't plan to ever visit again."

A proud grin graces Dr. Dawkins, and he chuckles in sheer amusement. "Good thinking. I am quite happy that you still remember all those early lessons of mine."

Resting the picture down, he hums in thought to himself and slowly eases back into his chair contemplatively. "Gods. This Bach Warwick... What ever has he managed to accomplish? Before we even venture to ascertain HOW he pulled this feat off, we first have to establish WHAT he did..."

Isaac dramatically nods, sitting up, and rakes his fingers through his head of wild, graying white hair, grumbling out his frustrations. "I KNOW. This is absolutely baffling to me. Did he find some strange power source of elder energy that causes this difference in auras?"

Quirking a wary and intrigued brow towards Isaac, Dr. Dawkins strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Gods help us... Has he bypassed the abstract prism?"

Isaac springs his eyes wide open briefly, entertaining the possibility, and slowly shakes his head frowning. "We could theorize all we want, but that will not get us the answers. Are you certain you don't know where Dr. Malkav is?"

With a long sigh, Dr. Dawkins grimaces and lowers his head slightly. "I know where he's been. At least, from when he stops to write during his slow periods. But, he gets caught up in his work and disappears for months at a time. The last package I got from him was from a hotel in Perimeter."

Gritting his teeth, Isaac groans, sinking into his seat a little. "Good gods. The Perimeter Weird Zone? He could be ANYWHERE in that area. And, who knows if he'll ever resurface. What was he out to study there?"

Dr. Dawkins crosses his arms, contorts his face with his memory, and shakes his head, hinting irritation. "OH, he's always purposefully vague about the details when he thinks he's on to something big. It's aligned with the common theme of his research. Clues to an old point of power that seemed extremely relevant to him. I could NEVER get him to elaborate more before he headed out on sabbatical years ago."

Isaac's mood drops, and he slumps in his chair, releasing a sad, disheartened sigh. "Well... Shit... It will take forever to figure out exactly WHERE he was going without some kind of context to WHAT he was researching. If we could just have something to work off of, I'm certain we could derive what caught his attention."

Nodding sympathetically, Dr. Dawkins halts. Distant memory tickling his attention, he concentrates upon a thought in his mind, furrowing his brow. A minute later, he blinks in revelation, slides back his chair, and holds a finger towards Isaac, getting up. "Wait here... I THINK I might have SOMETHING..."

He walks swiftly out of the dining room. Distantly from the archway into the hallway, the faint sounds of documents shuffling, paper moving, and a desk drawer opening resonate. A bit of excitement fills Dr. Dawkins' voice. "There it is!"

Isaac sits up in his chair and gazes curiously towards the entry into the dining room, cocking his head in anticipation. Seconds later, Dr. Dawkins reappears, shuffles over eagerly into his chair, and presents an old envelope to Isaac. "THIS might be what we need."

Narrowing his attention upon the aged paper exterior, Isaac glances towards Dr. Dawkins and points curiously at the item. "What's inside?"

With a glint of anticipation in his green eyes, Dr. Dawkins smirks and laughs, turning the front of the envelope at Isaac. "I don't exactly know."

Isaac's eyes widen, and he reads the text upon the paper container above Dr. Malkav's barely legible signature. "Open upon my DEATH?!"

A sly smile creeps upon Dr. Dawkins, and he chuckles dryly at Isaac. "If he's dead, no better time to open it. If he's still alive... He'll understand."

Isaac waits barely patiently. Dr. Dawkins plucks up a nearby plastic knife and awkwardly saws through the top of the letter. He empties out a few folded letter pages and a key upon the table. Both Isaac and Dr. Dawkins exchange curious glances, and Isaac motions Dr. Dawkins towards the letter. Seconds of Dr. Dawkins speed reading through the paragraphs upon the first page later, he chuckles loudly with a wide grin and slowly shakes his head. "You tricky old bastard."

Isaac leans over, peeking at the papers Dr. Dawkins' hands, and eagerly searches for the meaning. "What does it say?! What's the key for?!"

Picking up the key, Dr. Dawkins smiles brilliantly at Isaac and reveals a hand drawn map upon the next page of the letter. "He hid backup copies of his notes underneath the computing equipment anchors in one of the Library's server rooms!"

Isaac's gray eyes open wide and excitement drives his curiosity. He grabs hold of the map and studies it further. "By the gods! YES!"

Halting a moment, his mind stirs up old detail between quirks of his brow, and he ponders out loud. "Wait... The server rooms? Gods. I thought Dr. Malkav absolutely LOATHED the chair of the computer science department?"

With a humored grin, Dr. Dawkins nods, chuckling, and sits back in his seat. "OH. YES. He DESPISED the previous chair. But..."

Lifting an intrigued brow, he searches the top of his head. "It oddly makes sense, though. Certainly, no one would have EVER thought to look THERE for anything of Dr. Malkav's, knowing his hatred."

Snorting, Isaac examines the map further, remarking. "Probably wanted to put a final one over on that chair. Hiding his treasure right in the house of the one he hated."

The two sit quietly and study the pages from the envelope. Dr. Dawkins smirks slyly at Isaac, posing a question in a foreboding tone. "So... How should we go about acquiring this treasure?"

Isaac grins and hums contemplatively. The two men examine the map closer.