[Chuubo's] Fortitude: The Glass-Maker's Dragon IC

[Tengu_temp]

"Let's go then." Natalia leads Jasper back into Fortitude, towards the part where most of the Russian emigrees live. From time to time, random people on the streets tell them hello. This really seems like a close-knit community. One where Natalia doesn't feel like she fits.

Soon they're at the forge, and they're indeed the only people here. It's a small place, for making simple metal items for the locals, but it's enough for Natalia's needs. She heats up the furnace and lays the items she brought around the anvil; it turns out she had a few smaller ingots in her bag as well! Also a book about mythological weapons, which she's checking out now.
"Alright." She nods slightly. "Make sure you're protected. We're starting. Bless the steel when you feel it's appropriate."

Wearing the heavy apron, gauntlets and a metal mask for protection, Natalia heats up the metal in the furnace. And, when it's hot, she puts it on the anvil, starting to forge it into shape. Each hit of her hammer is powerful and precise, sending sparks flying around as if two swords collided in a dramatic music video. The shape of a spear's head slowly appears.

[Terraoblivion]

Moving through the Russian district, Jasper waved and smiled and returned hellos to all the people greeting them, even fruitlessly sending Natalia a few looks to try to get her to do the same.

Once they arrived at the forge, Jasper moved around it apparently completely unaffected by the heat just as she didn't make any effort to don protective equipment. "I'm fine, don't worry." She gave Natalia a reassuring smile while also trying to hide her nerves. Sure, she embodied hope in some way she didn't quite understand, but she was still just a kid risking the lives of who knew how many by trying something she'd never done before. Some nerves were to be expected.

Looking directly into the searingly hot metal, she began looking into herself trying to find every bit of hope and purity she had in her to draw it out and bless the weapon taking form next to her. Breathing in deeply to try to steady and center herself she tried to focus her will on making the weapon taking form the one that would kill Typhon.

As she did so, she felt something stir inside her a sense of wild abandon trying to compel her to shed her human form and revel as a ball of fire, to show her greatness in some vague inestimable way. Gritting her teeth in the face of the distraction, she tried to push through the strange, unbidden urge from the depth of her mind to complete the task at hand, facing her task with a greater determination than before. Rather than abate, the urge grew stronger and weirder, joined by strange physical sensations like extra limbs, the feeling of gazing into a flame far brighter than the forge. The suddenly she felt like she left her body, looking down on herself collapse for a fraction of a second and rather than her normal, bright, brown eyes she had windows into the starry sky like her father. There was a sinking sensation of certainty that that could have been her. Might still become her. Then it all came to an end and she found herself lying on the floor of the forge.

Panting she lifted herself from the ground, her clothes strangely still pristine even as the girl herself looked utterly spent as she wiped the sweat and, was that actual blood, from her face. "...Maybe I went a bit too far." She let out a gasp, composing herself even as she still looked absolutely drained, gazing on the spear to at least confirm that it was finished. Having done all this just to see the thing abandoned would be too much at this point. She just knew it.

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Okay, this is kinda crazy. I'm blowing all eight will on an intention to bless the spear based on Incarnation of the Sun. I'll let Crinias set the obstacle and whether it's even really going to do much more than making Jasper feel good about making a proper effort.

In addition to the intention, I'll be taking the story XP for having a traumatic dissociation scene. It seems like the kind of thing you'll get when you try to draw on all your reserves of talent, determination and inner strength towards a magical end.

[Tengu_temp]

The blade is almost done when the blessing starts. It's broad and long, good for both thrusting and cutting - a good spear for martial arts. Simple but thought-out patterns are etched into the spearhead, forming the semblance of blessed runes from several different cultures all over the world - one of them has to stick! Natalia has to only pour water on it when Jasper really hits her stride - and good, because the results are shocking!

"What did just happen..." Natalia pulls up the visor, setting the finished blade on the anvil. She's staring at Jasper with wide eyes; for a moment the girl didn't seem entirely human! She seems to be back to normal now, but she used to be some multi-armed, star-eyed, painfully bright, strange and terrifying thing. Is this what it means to be divine?
"Jasper! Are you alright? Do you feel strange, different, weakened? You're bleeding..."
Natalia has to fight against herself to admit it... But she's worried.
Argh, was this a mistake? I don't know what just happened... What cost did this painfully cheerful, innocent girl just pay? Too many people suffered because of my failure already, and now I entangled her into this too...!

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Using The Prodigy to create a perfect spear - we're in the middle of a scene, so I assume it doesn't cost me any MP.

I'll wait for Crinias' judgement on whether the weapon is actually blessed or not at this point.

[Terraoblivion]

Okay, no comments on the eyes..."I'm fine. Don't worry." Jasper gave Natalia one of her customary smiles, even if it seemed a bit more tired and a bit less bright than usual. "But I'm hungry and tired. It really took a lot out of me..." She looked a bit embarrassed. "And, um, I guess I need to think. But I'm not hurt or changed or anything, don't worry."

[Crinias]

All around Town, people turn their heads in confusion. What had been a rather nice sunny day saw itself interrupted with a sudden dimming. Some clouds are on the sky, certainly, but the sky is dimming. People nervously look up and reassure themselves that the sky is still indeed shining, and not blossoming red, like what happened seven years ago.

On the Methodology Tower over on Arcadia, the Gray Man observes the weather with a curious mix of expectation and confusion. Is it time already? Surely he should have received more warning than this, right?

In Horizon's School, a riddled-with-bloodied-paperwork Principal Entropy observes the sky with a frown upon his face. The S.E.E.D. plan is not yet complete, and neither are his visions of a better future. Yet, this is not quite the same as seven years ago. He turns towards another window, facing towards the general direction of Fortitude. Perhaps...

On an ordinary street in Horizon, two ordinary kids stare at the sun. One turns accusingly at the other, while the other denies any correlation to this event.

These thoughts and worries last perhaps a minute, until the sunlight increases upon Fortitude, becoming a sunburst; followed, to a lesser degree, by the rest of Town. Town's inhabitants collectively sigh in relief. The world is filled with light. And anyone attentive enough could see, if they were looking in the right direction, that the center of Fortitude's sunburst is a small forge.

The forge is rid of its shadows, for a brief moment. While Natalia finishes the spear, her vision through the visor suddenly becomes clear, as though she were looking at her spear normally, such is the light that appears.

Somewhere else, Miramie Mesmer feels something stirring deep within her, clawing at her, a nameless uncertainty filling her with confusion.


As for Jasper -
As for the Child of the Sun, her mind is torn from her. For an instant, she's back at home, not bound by the rules of the mortal realm or confined by a mortal shape. She can feel herself growing in shape and mind, in spirit and hunger.

Hunger specially. The food of the divine realm are peerless, and no mortal save perhaps Natalia could match their dishes with the ease they do, dishes like treasures, of all forms and sizes, ready for her consumption. Well-prepared evildoers and spirits to be sacrificed and plates golden like her mother's smile; gifts are they all—

But all things end, says a voice in her mind.

She remembers it happening. The white horse. The bow. The arrow, and her mother's blood.

She remembers looking back at her father's eyes, empty and black with the night falling within, endless, timeless, yet not completely alien. And she can feel herself falling, falling, falling deep into the world, slowly; slowly enough to feel as though she were falling into his eyes, falling through empty space, falling up and down at the same time, forever and ever, and knowing that he would be waiting, and he must not find her—


But she's not there in emptiness and nonexistence, she's in Town. Jasper blinks. Natalia is in front of her. Everything is alright now. She's standing, on two feet. She's breathing, through her nose. She is, in a final statement, of human form.

...And she feels oddly hungry.

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O_O

How truly unexpected.

Let's see... I don't think blessing a spear to make it holy is difficult enough for Jasper that it'd be Obstacle 3+, considering that she's the sun and hope and stuff, but at the same time I'd think that since it's her first time doing it, it would still be rather difficult, so I'm going to set the Obstacle at 2.

That puts it the final Intention level at 8, making this blessing very productive, efficient and damn impressive, but just short of being 'the right thing'. Considered this spear uber-blessed.

Additionally, an expenditure of 8 Will is normally enough to murder an ordinary person, but Jasper's Immortal, so she can invoke the right type of cosmetic damage here if she wishes. This would ordinarily be deadly, but not extremely so, so she can take a Deadly Wound and just heal it when the scene ends, if she wishes.

Also, even if you recover your 1 Will from a successful Intention, you should now feel tired and with not enough energy to actually do things.

Also also, Snark, this is mean of me, but please take another point of Sickness, for the sun's purifying rays are stirring up some memories in Miramie.

[Tengu_temp]

Natalia exhales in relief. Looks like she worried needlessly. Good.
"You can rest now, it's all done. If it turned out to be dangerous for you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. What happened was... a spectacle. I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them, even in this place. I think you hit your head when you collapsed." She gives Jasper a tissue from her bag. Natalia might not talk about the burning hands, or the starry eyes yet - seems to be a bad time - but she will find out when the time is right. From Jasper, or someone else.

But for now? She sets the blade on the staff, and the spear is complete. Natalia takes a few test strikes at the air inside the forge. The weapon sits in her hands excellently, but she grows thoughtful.
"It's been a long time since I made a weapon. Back then, it was different; they were made from parts, from everyday objects. I had to show them I can build one, in any situation; build something to hurt others any time they wanted me to. I hated it..."
She looks up. "But this is different. This spear won't hurt other people; it will protect them. Soon, the serpent Typhon will be slain, and won't be a danger for Fortitude anymore."
Natalia swings the spear, pointing its end towards the ground. While not smiling, she seems less gloomy than usual.
"I won't waste your work. I'm in your debt."

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Claiming an XP point for getting one step closer to defeating Typhon!

And giving a point of Gratitude XP to Jasper. Even if Natalia's bad at showing it.

[Terraoblivion]

"Yeah, that's probably it." Jasper nodded slightly, the last bit of energy seeming to leave her as she got confirmation of their success and she slumped down against the wall of the forge. She did reach up to accept the tissue to wipe her hands after having wiped her face like that. "And you're right, this will be different from back then." She nodded, though her expression was clearly absent. "...Can you go get some food? That really drained me."

[Tengu_temp]

"...Yes. I even have some with me. Here." Natalia hesitates only for a second, before pulling two baguettes with nothing and a thermos of iced coffee from her bag. Giving up her afternoon lunch for someone who clearly needs it is a small price to pay for what Jasper did for her! Because yes, this is what counts as lunch for her.
"Is this enough? I can get more, if you need." She hands the food over.

[Terraoblivion]

"Thanks. It'll be plenty." Jasper gave Natalia another small, tired smile as she accepted the food and began chewing. Hopefully it'll be enough to settle that gnawing hunger her overexertion had created. Initially digging in with the fervor of someone completely drained of energy, her chewing gradually slowed down as her stomach was given something to work. Instead the fatigue crept over her...She really should be careful if she did anything like that in the future.

Halfway through the second baguette, her head finally dropped and a very ordinary snoring started instead. At least she was tired enough to avoid confusing and unpleasant dreams for now.

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And this is probably the place to call the scene. Not entirely sure what action would be appropriate, though. It seems rather too dramatic and excessive to fit the simplicity and wholesomeness of Shared Action, but I'm not sure what fits better.

[Tengu_temp]

When Jasper wakes up, she will find out that someone restored the forge to the state it was originally in before they started working. Natalia and all her stuff are gone. Except for her jacket, which someone put on Jasper's shoulders to keep her warm in her sleep.

[Crinias]

The rest of the day is uneventful, though rather filled with much gossip and rumors. It's not every day that something like that happens, after all. People in Fortitude take it more calmly than anyone else, perhaps. Over on the other areas of Town, the general attitude of people is somewhere between curious and baffled.

What does it mean? Is it simply a freak meteorological phenomenon, like some suggest? A sign, a portent of things to come? Should it even mean anything at all?

In between the relative excitement of such things, Saturday arrives with not much fanfare. On Horizon, a group of kids meet for what is, for most of them, an unusual situation.

"Ah, I'm glad you could come," says Chuubo, accompanied by Seizhi. "Shall we get going, then?"

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Delays, delays... I've really no way to apologize, but at least I can say that from now on, my speed will probably never get so bogged down.

Feel free to comment on recent events or ask questions before we get around to the Ritual. Since the actual wish will probably be suggested by you, we'll probably need some build-up to that anyway.

If you're not here (like Leonardo mentioned probably won't be), that's not really much of a problem; you can still react to the Ritual when it begins.

[Terraoblivion]

Despite the previous day, Jasper was quite up and ready. She hadn't thought everything through, but sitting around moping about it wasn't really to her taste anyway and going to visit a different part of Town and see something like the wish-granting engine wasn't something she could miss either way. And as such a somewhat tired looking Jasper was there at the abandoned house at the end of the street to see Chuubo's invention, meeting the pair with a bright smile. "Hi! And maybe? If everyone is ready." She really did look excited at the prospect, after all.

People who looked more closely would also see that she was carrying a jacket and a paperbag full of what smelled like some kind of pastry.

[Tengu_temp]

"I promised I will come. Therefore, I'm here."
Natalia keeps an almost ostentatiously straight face as she approaches. She's wearing her school uniform, as usual, and it's missing a jacket. What a mystery! Could it be connected to something other people are carrying? Nah, couldn't be.
"Do you know what kind of wish will you make yet?"

[Crinias]

As Chuubo guides everyone into the house, he appears thoughtful, idly scratching the side of his face with a finger.

"Well, I was thinking maybe something exciting like an adventure would be nice, but I'm not so sure now."

Seizhi smirks at this comment. "Hah, just being around you counts as an everyday adventure."

As he says this, the group enters a large room and sees a large machine built out of wood and iron, with wires and pistons in its interior, and levers, tubes and lights sticking out of it asymmetrically. There are some tools lying around, as well.

The Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine sits in the middle of the room like a tamed sleeping tiger with a leash around its neck.

"At any rate, I'm not quite sure what to wish for."

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Picture by Elyandarin. Ignore Lillimund in the background.

[Terraoblivion]

"Is there much reason for risking an adventure if there's no purpose to it?" Jasper sent Chuubo a curious look. It sounded wildly irresponsible to just vaguely ask for an adventure, but maybe lower worlders meant something different? Like, perhaps it was all just something like a vacation or similar. Or perhaps it was some kind of important rite of passage or held some other kind of spiritual importance to them? She sent Natalia a curious look to see of the Russian seemed at all understanding of the matter. "Why do you want one anyway?" Her tone wasn't quite as dismissive as it was plain curious. Maybe she'd learn about some important lower worlder belief nobody had mentioned before.

After a few seconds of musings and weird looks, she remembered where she was. "Oh, and I bought some taiyaki, if you want one." She held the paper bag up and presented it to the rest of the gathered kids.

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And one XP for the theory that people in the lower world ascribe religious significance to adventures.

[Geostationary]

"Oooh, I'll have one!"
Rinley says this as she enters through the window, closing it behind her. Her day has been mostly uneventful, discounting the preparations she's been helping Leonardo make. She had been heading here after them when the roofs started to get... wibbly, as they are wont to do before a storm.
"Sorry I'm late. I came by roof, but the coming storm makes it a tad less reliable. So that's the engine? Cool."
She takes one of the fish-shaped cakes from Jasper while gawking at the engine.
"Hey Chuubo, Seizhi. Figured out what you'll wish for?"

[Tengu_temp]

It seems that Natalia's decision to tag along in order to limit potential damage was a good one. Who knows what might happen if Chuubo decides on a foolish wish!
"An adventure is too much of a broad term. A lot of things I experienced would count as adventures from a third party's point of view, but for the people involved, some of them were good, some bad."
Natalia pauses for a moment, looking at the machine as if trying to discern how it works.
"Most were the latter. Freezing winter, Siberia, and easily irritable mooses are already bad news independently, before you add them together. Hello Rinley." She takes one of the taiyaki as she speaks, the engine still holding her attention. The troublemaker's sudden entrance didn't faze her at all.

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Ahah! I'll claim another XP for the Golden Snake quest, for talking about Natalia's past.

[Terraoblivion]

"What's Siberia? Some disease or famous Earth person?"

And with the mention of cold winters, Jasper suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and thanks for letting me borrow your jacket yesterday." She met Natalia with a bright smile as she returned the garment.

[Crinias]

"I'd say that an adventure doesn't have to be risky, just exciting," says Chuubo to Jasper. "As for purpose... I don't know, sometimes an idea strikes me and there's not much I can do about it except implement it. Much like the Engine, really. Anyway, it's not like I was going to wish for something so broad as 'an adventure,'" he says in false tones of indignation, while doing air quotes, "it's just that I didn't have the details down at the time. Maybe something like being pirates, or going treasure hunting somewhere...?"

Rinley arrives just then, interrupting him. "Oh, hey."
"Hi! Not yet, actually. We were just talking about that..."

Chuubo gets sidetracked by a comment made by Natalia. "Siberia? Is that something you eat?" he asks nearly at the same time as Jasper.

Seizhi coughs slightly and adopts a lecturing position, with a relaxed stance, folded arms, and one hand and finger raised, as though to make a point. "Siberia is a huge geographical region belonging to Russia, consisting of almost all North Asia, on planet Earth. It is usually known for its extreme cold. The Siberian wilderness is said to be very very dangerous."

He wrinkles his nose. "Miss Natalia, what exactly happened in Siberia?"

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Silly Natalia, Siberia is just a made-up place, just like Russia! It's not somewhere that actually exists.

Don't worry, though. Seizhi won't say anything about that. He understands your pain.

[Tengu_temp]

"Um... Thanks. It's nothing." Natalia takes the jacket back from Jasper, slightly awkwardly, and puts it on. Somehow she manages to keep her dignity despite holding a fish-shaped pastry in her mouth at the same time.

"Seizhi is correct. It was also when I had my survival training, as a part of my general training program several years ago. I was alone in the wilderness a lot of time because of it, in winter."
Natalia seems more distant than usual as she recalls those memories.
"At one point, I encountered a strange moose. It was tracking me down, like a hunter. Not normal moose behaviour. I decided to find out what's going on; the game of cat and mouse lasted for days, in freezing cold. Finally, we met, and fought; it was not easy, I was still a martial arts novice back then, but I won. I could kill the moose back then, but I didn't; I looked into his eyes, and there was something wrong in them. Confusion and pain."
Natalia pauses for a moment to take a bite of her taiyaki.
"By tracking the moose's old prints, I found it. An experimental weather station, accidentally sending waves that drove many local animals crazy. I fixed it, and they returned to normal. The moose to. I'm not sure he realized what happened... But I think he was grateful. He let me ride him, back to the home camp."
Her voice becomes slightly uneven as she recalls the details of the story. Natalia looks away from everyone else, upwards, as if looking at the sky, even though they're under a roof.
"...The guards saw the moose and shot him. A wild animal this close to the camp was a security threat."

[The_Snark]

Miramie enters during the pause that often follows one of Natalia's stories, opening the door with a nervous is-this-the-right-place air. She relaxes a little when she spots the others; no, she hasn't just walked into a stranger's house uninvited, thank goodness.

"Hello, everyone," she greets them. Today finds her wearing a bulky grey coat and a white scarf over her usual semiformal garb, though the weather doesn't seem to warrant it. She looks a little pale."I'm sorry I was late. I was with Leonardo. He didn't want to come."

She looks at the machine. "Is this it? The Wish-Granting Engine? It's not like I thought it would be..."

[Terraoblivion]

Immediately upon hearing Natalia's story, Jasper moved in to give her a tight hug. "That's really awful. Why would they even do something like that?" She gave her a bright smile. "At least you're not near those people any longer." Even if that would do nothing for the poor moose...And in the focus on traumatic stories, Chuubo's explanation of his adventure was completely forgotten.

Miramie's arrival was greeted by an offered taiyaki and a small wave. "Hi...Is something wrong? You look sick." The concern was immediately visible on Jasper's face. So was the fact that she looked rather tired herself. In fact, shortly after giving the answer she yawned widely.

[Tengu_temp]

"Err..." Natalia tries her best to gently disattach Jasper. She's not good at physical closeness, or closeness to people in general; especially if those people are incarnations of the sun, burning with their painful optimism. Okay, Jasper helped her a lot, and Natalia feels grateful for that, but still - she can't help how her frozen heart feels.
"The program fell apart four years ago, yes. They won't hurt anyone anymore... We should focus on present matters, like Chuubo's wish. Or... Yes. Hello."
Natalia looks at Miramie carefully. She remembers what happened at the library.

[The_Snark]

"I'm fine." Miramie attempts a smile, accepting the offered taiyaki. "Just bundling up, that's all. It's chilly out today."

It's nice of Jasper to worry, but Miramie doesn't want to bother her over little things. Again. Time to change the subject! She looks to Chuubo. "Hi. You're Chuubo, right, and you must be... Seizhi? I've seen you around town, but I don't think we've ever talked. Either of you," she adds hastily, "It's nice to meet both of you for the very first time. I'm Miramie, Miramie Mesmer. Thank you for letting Jasper pass along the invitation."

She holds out a hand to shake.

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Flipping from Innocent to Suspicious! and collecting XP.

[Crinias]

"Ah." Chuubo doesn't seem to know what to say at Natalia's story. Seizhi immediately seems to regret asking that question.

Thankfully, Miramie's sudden entrance and Jasper's worry at Natalia seems to make things somewhat easier to follow up on. Or it would, if Chuubo hadn't paused at Miramie's entrance, and proceeded to stare at her for a few moments. He doesn't even seem to register Miramie's question regarding the Engine.

"Hi," says Seizhi, in sync with everyone else. He then elbows Chuubo in the ribs and looks at him meaningfully.

"Oh," Chuubo finally says, snapping out of it. "Oh! Sorry, I spaced out for a moment there. It's no problem, really, the more the better... and yeah, I think we must have met before somewhere else. " he says awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

He smiles warmly, and proceeds to shake Miramie's hand. "Nice to meet you too, Miramie."

[Geostationary]

"So, now that that's out of the way, we're trying to decide on a wish!"
Rinley seems excited and impatient. I mean, there's a wish-granting engine! And it's right there, ready to wish away!
"I understand that Chuubo was looking to wish for an adventure! Possibly even a piratical one! With treasure!"

[Tengu_temp]

"Think of a wish that won't cause trouble for others. If it's an adventure, make sure it's not one of those where people die, or the whole town gets flooded or turned into a tourist attraction for aliens.", Natalia advises over her shoulder. The combined enthusiasm of Chuubo and Rinley might result in a very disasterous wish if there's nobody to temper them!

Something about Miramie bugs her, though. She doesn't know the library girl too well, but who dresses like that in this weather? And that's not the only sign... Natalia looks at her piercingly.
"...Are you sick?", she asks.

[Terraoblivion]

Jasper nodded in agreement with Natalia's question. Being sick was likely. It was something humans did on occasion and it made them bundle up like that and most people were dressed more lightly. She looked like she was doing poorly. "Yeah. Perhaps you should get some rest, I can help you with whatever you need while you're out." She gave the totally real girl a concerned, friendly smile. It was the least she could do for a friend.

"And that shopkeepers don't get brainwashed again...But why do you need to wish for one? There are so many exciting things already! Why not wish for something that would help people?"

[The_Snark]

"I'm fine," Miramie repeats, a little annoyed. The truth is that Miramie would reflexively insist she was fine if both her arms fell off, but right now she really does feel okay. Mostly. (And the reminder of that mostly is not helping.) "Look, I appreciate your worrying, both of you, but I'm all right, really. It's just a little cold."

"So, um, wishing!" This is a transparent attempt to change the subject. "I don't think there's anything I want that much. I'm afraid I won't be much help coming up with ideas... Did you have something in mind, Jasper? A wish that would help people?"

[Terraoblivion]

Jasper nodded, giving Miramie a small smile. If the rather mysterious girl didn't want to dwell more on it and thought she was fine, that was it. As long as they were there, they could step in to help her should it prove wrong.

"Nothing specific..." Jasper bit her lip slightly, looking a bit goofy. "I don't really know how money or representative democracy or colds or other human stuff works, so I'm not sure I could make a good one. I should probably leave it to you guys who are actual humans."