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Chapter 23: Dinner [II]

"Oh my look at the time," Lady Nova rapidly began serving what appeared to be some kind of caviar sitting atop calamari slices to everyone.

"The Corpseworld Caretaker... stopped time with a word for several minutes..." I exhaled dramatically and half-lied smoothly, aiming my metaphorical Glock at the immovable, stern Justice of Cradlefall. "So I told it...... my story."

"Your story?" Lance stared up at me from the phone screen playing out a loop of Emerald's demise, Solace's axe-ning and Vespera's self-electrocution.

I hesitated just long enough to make it seem like I was carefully selecting my words, making a dramatic pause. "A story about hope. About someone who refused to give up, even when the world seemed determined to break them."

Cinder shot me a sideways glance.

"I told the entity from beyond the stars about my childhood in North Acadia," I began. "And my study in South Acadia at Saint Christopher's Academy."

I made my voice grow softer, more vulnerable as I padded more heart-wrenching lies in. "My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was twelve. The human-hospital chemical treatments were... ineffective. But she never lost her faith. She played the organ at the local Nazarite Church until she physically couldn't anymore."

Lady Nova's feathers shifted through sympathetic, warm colors. Even Justice Nova's stern expression softened slightly.

"Then my school... burned down," I continued, staring down at my plate. "An electrical fire. We lost everything - the music sheets, the instruments, all of it. But the community came together. We held choir practice in people's homes, in parks, anywhere we could."

"My mom died last spring," I paused, taking a shaky breath. "Then, the mountain avalanche took my Thunderbird father... And... His Lazarus bracelet was never found."

I thought about holding my mom's pale hand in the hospital when her heart stopped and my eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, you poor dear," Lady Nova breathed, her own eyes sparkling at the edges.

"I almost broke then," I added quietly. "But my mother... even through her illness, she kept telling me to have faith. To keep singing, keep helping others. Thus, when my dad was gone, choir music became my anchor."

Cinder was staring at me, her ocean-blue eyes wide. I could see her struggling to reconcile this story with what she knew about me to understand where the truth ended and the lies began.

"After losing my parents, I left South Acadia," I continued, carefully wiping my eyes with a napkin. "Before he died, dad mentioned that he wanted me to attend Skyfall, to bring up the low level of my heart-core through the delving program. Father Matthias knew my father. The Arch-Priest of Triumvirate Slayer's was incredibly kind and offered me a place to stay in the Cathedral dormitory while I study at Skyfall Academy. He says that music heals the soul, and I've found that to be true. Working with the youth choir, helping at the soup kitchen... it gave me purpose. I told the entity all of this, and then... It thanked me for my story and simply left without hurting anyone else," I concluded to my audience of captivated Novas.

"That's why today's incident affected me so deeply," I added, glancing at Cinder. "Seeing someone with such incredible musical talent risk their life unnecessarily... it reminded me of what really matters. Not power or status, but using our gifts to help others."

"A truly inspiring perspective," Justice Nova nodded approvingly. "And quite mature for someone your age."

"The Slayer teaches us that true strength comes from facing adversity with grace," I quoted. "I'm just trying to live up to those words."

"Speaking of music," Lady Nova interjected warmly, "Cassie has such a lovely voice. Perhaps you two could work together? The cathedral's youth choir could really benefit from her talent."

Cinder choked on her drink.

"Mom!" She protested.

"Actually," I said carefully, "It is my sincerest wish to be Cassiopeia's manager. Ever since I heard her sing, I've been amazed by her talent. Her voice has incredible power - not just in terms of skill, but real spiritual resonance. The way she can move people's hearts..."

"What a wonderful idea!" Lady Nova beamed, her wings fluttering with excitement. "Starshine, you could perform at the cathedral!"

"And what exactly would this management entail?" Cinder's father asked.

"I leave that entirely up to you, Mr. Nova. As her father, you would have final say on all performances and venues," I replied. "My role would simply be to help Cinder develop her talent in a safe, structured environment. No more dangerous summoning shows or illegal gates - just pure musical performance."

Cinder's eyes were boring a hole in the side of my head.

"And what would you get out of this arrangement?" Justice Nova wondered.

"The opportunity to work with an incredible talent," I answered without hesitation. "And perhaps... a chance to build something meaningful. The youth choir is wonderful work, but with Cinder's talent, I could create something truly special, help her bloom. Here's a small edit of her singing that I've remixed in my spare time."

I opened my BandOodamp page and pressed -> Play <-.

In truth, I didn't do any remixing, I was an absolute incompetent at editing and composing music, Yulia was the one who added the funky electronic beats atop of Cinder's singing. She somehow managed to integrate Cinder's initial "Nueh" annoyed exhale into the music.

"And Arx's not far away, it's Omnithornication

Born and raised by those who praise control of population

Well, everybody's been there and I don't mean on vacation..."

Cinder's voice poured from the phone's speakers.

The song cut off a bit abruptly at the end as Yulia seemed to have run out of free AI-composer SolaDoor credits, but nobody in the dining room seemed to notice, all eyes on me and the extra-embarrassed Cinder.

"Hmm," Justice Nova leaned back slightly. "The start is a bit too modern for my liking, but I do like the middle. And what are your thoughts on this, Cassiopeia?"

Cinder's jaw snapped shut. She didn't expect the sudden remix revelation. Her wings shifted through uncertain purples and thoughtful blues. "I... um..."

I booted her gently under the table again.

"I trust... Alex," she finally mewled out, flashing with all sorts of amusing colors. "He's already proven he can keep me safe, and... I do miss just singing without all the dangerous stuff."

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"Well, I think it's a wonderful idea!" Lady Nova clapped her hands together.

"Lenora!" She called out up the large stairwell, her voice carrying unnaturally far. "Dinner's ready, sweetheart!"

The sound of rapid footsteps thundered down the stairs, and a small black blur burst into the dining room. A young Black Shuck Omnid, no more than eleven, skidded to a halt beside the table. She had jet-black mane, piercing yellow eyes, and was wearing a black and pink princess-style frilly dress that matched her onyx-tinted body.

"Sorry I'm late!" she announced cheerfully. "I was playin' VR OodleCraft n' teaching Mr. Snuggles proper tea party etiquette!" Her yellow eyes landed on me and widened with curiosity. "Who're you?"

"This is Alexander Glock," Lady Nova explained as she flashed into the kitchen. "He's a friend of your sister's from school... a choir manager." Her voice carried to the living room with impressive clarity across the hall.

"A friend of Cassie's?" Lenora's tail began wagging excitedly. "But Cassie doesn't have friends! Well, except for that scary ruby dragon lady and the moth boy who smells funny!"

"Leny!" Cinder hissed, her feathers bristling with embarrassment and irritation.

"What? It's true!" Lenora protested, climbing into her chair and sticking her tongue out at Cinder. "You never bring anyone home!"

I smiled at Cinder as I swallowed a calamari boat filled with caviar with a look of satisfaction.

"Will Lady Xastigar be joining us for dinner?" I asked politely, turning to the Hearth-keeper.

"Not tonight, dear," Lady Nova's feathers shifted from pink to silver-blue and gray as she began bringing out the second meal. "She's ever so busy with her Arch-CEO work. I believe she's in Thunderland this week negotiating another big contract for Omnimart."

I exhaled mentally. Xastigar Obliss-Nova was a very dangerous woman who could smell lies from a mile away according to Yulia's report on her. Convincing her of my Good-choir-boy persona would be incredibly difficult.

"Mom's probably doing another hostile takeover," Lenora commented cheerfully, stabbing a piece of meat with her fork. "She's super good at those! Last week she made three CEOs cry!"

"Lenoralynne," Justice Nova's voice carried a warning tone. "What have we talked about discussing family business at the dinner table?"

"Sorry daddy," the young Black Shuck ducked her head, though her yellow eyes still sparkled with mischief. "But it's true! Mother says that tears are just weakness leaving the body!"

I noticed Cinder's wings shift through dark grays and violets at the mention of her Prima-mother.

Interesting family dynamics.

Anitta quickly brought out more plates of food. The steaks were massive - easily two inches thick and practically raw in the middle, bleeding pink juice onto the plates. The Hearth-Mother served them with a flourish, her feathers shifting through proud pinks as she distributed portions.

"I hope you don't mind your meat rare, Alexander," she said apologetically. "We Quetzalcoatl tend to prefer our food... minimally cooked."

"Not at all, ma'am," I replied. "My mother taught me how to prepare raw fish the Kaska Dena way. She was a First Nations human, one of the last several hundred speakers of the Kaska language, an Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in Znetc human reservation area of North Acadia."

Justice Nova tore into his steak with frightening efficiency, his sharp teeth making quick work of the rare meat. Lance followed suit, while Lenora attacked her portion with enthusiastic if somewhat messy determination.

Cinder glanced at me as I uttered the Nazarite prayer of the Leviathan's Slayer and delicately cut my steak into manageable pieces. The meat was so rare it was practically mooing.

"So, Alexander," Justice Nova said between bites. "What are your thoughts on the current human migration crisis?"

I carefully chewed and swallowed before responding. "A complex issue that requires careful consideration of both security and humanitarian concerns, sir. While we must protect our borders and society, we should also remember the Slayer's teachings about mercy and compassion."

Exactly what a goodly Nazarite would say.

"Interesting perspective," Justice Nova commented on my NPC response with one of his own. "And what of the increasing human criminal activity in Scab Row?"

"Dad," Cinder growled warningly.

"It's alright," I said softly. "As someone who works in the soup kitchen, I see firsthand how poverty and desperation can drive people to make poor choices. But I also see how kindness and opportunity can change lives. Just last week, we helped three human families find legitimate work through the cathedral's employment program."

"The cathedral does excellent work," Justice Nova nodded. "Though some might argue that such charity only encourages more illegal immigration and Topaz spread. If it were up to me alone, I would level all of Scab Row and ship every human there off to the Alisson Islands."

"With respect, sir," I replied carefully, setting down my fork, "I believe there may be a more efficient approach. The human workforce, properly managed and integrated, could actually benefit Omnithornia's economy, particularly in areas where Omnids are less interested in working."

"Explain," Justice said.

"Take artificial intelligence development, for instance," I continued. "Humans, lacking natural magical abilities, have developed remarkable technological innovations to compensate for their lack of mana... while working for our Omnicorps. Human understanding of machine learning and neural networks could be invaluable for improving our magitek infrastructure."

"An interesting point," Justice Nova conceded. "Though how would you prevent security risks? Many Conservationist Party Omnids are concerned about Instrumental Convergence."

"That's actually only a problem in smaller agents," I said. "A properly characterized, well-personalized Large Language Model tied to a multitude of agents is actually completely incapable of over-focusing on a task."

"Really?" Nathaniel's eyebrows went up.

"Indeed! For instance," I continued smoothly, "by pairing human AI developers with Omnid Scrutimancers, we could combine human innovation with Omnid magical safeguards. The Conservationists' concerns about instrumental convergence could be easily addressed by having Deathskull Mothmen thoroughly examine human-designed LLMs with their doomsday sense."

"Hrm," the Justice seemed to contemplate my words.

"Consider the delving industry," I elaborated. "Currently, many promising dungeon locations go unexplored because they're deemed too dangerous or resource-intensive for Omnid teams. But humans, with their technological approach and nothing to lose, could serve as excellent scouts and support personnel. Humans armed with personal AIs and drone-scouts could map dungeons and extract artifacts with incredible efficiency."

"You seem quite knowledgeable about AI," Justice Nova pondered. "And here I thought that you were merely a choir manager."

"The Triumvirate Slayer's cathedral's youth outreach program works extensively with human children in Scab Row," I explained smoothly. "Understanding their perspective and capabilities helps us serve them better. Plus, my late mother's work with First Nations language preservation relied heavily on AI tools she helped develop for the Frontenachii Clan. I am after all, half-Thunderbird, so the technical side of machine intelligence interests me greatly."

The dinner conversation spiraled into increasingly complex territory as I led Justice Nova through discussions of AI ethics, dungeon economics, and integration policies. His orange eyes gleamed with growing interest as I wove together threads of theology, technology, and theoretical social reform into a tapestry that painted me as both deeply traditional and innovatively progressive in just the right ways.

Cinder watched this verbal dance with barely concealed amazement as I smoothly navigated her father's probing questions, while Lenora peppered the conversation with occasional, amusingly inappropriate, extra-blunt comments.

Lady Nova beamed throughout the entire discussion, clearly delighted that her daughter had brought home such a well-spoken young man.

Lance simply looked shell-shocked. He was overwhelmed by the videos and the remix and had lost the trail of my conversation with his father about twenty minutes ago. It's not that he was an idiot, he simply never truly dug into the social and administrative structures of Omnithornia as deeply or as desperately as I had to, nor did he have a personal AI whispering topic advice into his ear.

As the conversation wound down, Lady Nova glanced at the ornate crystal and gold Gothic revival clock on the wall. "Alexander dear, you simply must stay the night. I won't hear of you walking back to the cathedral at this hour."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose..." I began with perfectly calculated reluctance.

"Nonsense!" Lady Nova insisted, her feathers shifting through determined pinks. "We have plenty of guest rooms, and it's much too dark for you to be walking about. The streets aren't safe at night, especially for a young half-blood."

Justice Nova nodded in agreement from his seat by the ornate fireplace inhabited by a chonky Ignix Kitlix, the crystalline kitten setting the wood alight. "Indeed. The guest room in the East Wing should be suitable. Lance, show Alexander to his quarters."