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[castoredux]

Hey, listen up. I know there's some shit goin' on around here, but I'm lookin' for someone. Anybody good at findin' people?

[Nevermind that the 'shit' going on around here is why he needs to find her.]

Comments

[castoredux]

No shit. He'd be crowin' about bein' a team. [A beat.] Guess somebody's gotta do it.

[He frowns, though she can't hear that.]

There's a lot of dangerous places around here that need mapping.

[bufus]

I assumed you would have little interest in joining me at the Historium. [ A tiny part of her almost wanted to point out that he didn't really have room to talk about them being a team. she managed to stop herself though, there was no reason for anything like that. ]

Truthfully, that was my motivation behind mapping things out. Several people have mentioned that there are a number of dangerous locations. [ And she's been to some sort of. ]

[castoredux]

Don't mean you couldn't tell me where you were. [I was worried.]

.okay. So, where are we goin', then?

[bufus]

Like you always told us where you were? [ Oh, maybe she shouldn't have gone there like that... ]

I'm not certain when I'll make another venture. Right now I was attempting to look into the arena.

[castoredux]

[He makes a frustrated sound.] That was different. [And after a pause.] Unless you're sayin' you're avoidin' me.

[Because I'd definitely been avoiding you.]

Sounds like a plan.

[bufus]

[ She just ignores that. ] You're planning to come with me?

[castoredux]

[This is the part where he has to swallow his pride.]

If you'll still have me.

[bufus]

Oh....certainly. You can meet me here then. I'll...wait until your arrival to conduct my business.

[castoredux]

Yeah, okay, just give me some time to get there. It ain't like I can catch the train.

[He had to take a cart. This place was so weird.]

[bufus]

I'll be waiting near the entrance. [ And she will be sitting on a bench waiting with one leg folded over the other tapping a bit impatiently. ]

action;

[castoredux]

[As it turned out, the cart-driver who brought him here didn't take long to flag down, and so it was only 20 minutes before he was walking up, with a hefty sledgehammer resting on his shoulder. He figured, with all the monsters that were supposed to be around here, having a weapon on him wasn't a bad idea.

And big hammers were cheaper than axes from blacksmiths.]

Hey.

[bufus]

[ For her part she had on an outfit that was a bit different than her usual summer attire back home. She still wore a simple white sleeveless shirt, but rather than black capri pants she had a black skirt on that was made out of fabric that was much more breathable than the type her school uniform used. The way it flowed allowed for better movement while also having a refined quality to it that she'd quite liked. Most importantly though it'd been extremely cheap, having been something that was handmade by someone here and on sale to usher in the incoming heat. Of course she'd chosen something practical.

She stood upon his arrival and tilted her head at what he was holding. ]

Is that...a hammer...?

[castoredux]

[While Shinji was wearing his beanie (because he always did), he wasn't wearing his coat, which had become such a staple back home. He didn't find himself cold nearly as often. He was wearing dark slacks and a dark turtleneck, though. He wasn't that different.

He took notice of the skirt, how it flowed around her, and he liked it, but he nodded at her question instead of commenting on it.]

Yeah. If somethin' wants a piece of us, does it matter what I hit it with?

[bufus]

[ It occured to her that he wasn't wearing his coat and she couldn't help but find it a bit strange. Though...it was a nice sort of strange. She honestly couldn't recall the last time she'd seen him in anything but that coat.

She put a hand up to hide a tiny smile on his face. He was as overprotective as he'd always been.]

I was only planning on scanning, not fighting. [ She put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. ] From my understanding the sewers have a number of creatures that are simply allowed to run free. If we wanted a fight, that might be a preferable location to go into again. [ Does that mean she's been down there on her own? Yes. Briefly. She's not as foolish as Akihiko, so she certainly didn't rush into anything. ]

[castoredux]

Again, huh? [He scoffed, but the slight smile on his face hinted at his being slightly less than serious. He knew she could handle herself.

That didn't mean she needed to all the time, that was all.]

Runnin' off without knowin' what's waitin' for you. Ain't that Aki's job?

[bufus]

Someone has to fill the role in his absence. [ A hint of a smirk touched her lips ever so briefly before she ducked her head down with something almost like a ...blush. ]

You have no reason to worry, Shinjiro. I was cautious everywhere I went.

[castoredux]

Tch, I ain't worried. [He shook his head.] Just figured we ought to stick together here. [There's a pause before he adds-] I'm not makin' that mistake again.

[And that was enough of that.] So, what's the plan?

[bufus]

Of course not, [ she moved a hand up to hide her smirk, though her expression quickly fell with his next statement. ] Ah, yes...

[ Well, that was a topic she didn't want to linger on for long. ] We should find a location with limited people. Then I'll try to scan the area.

[castoredux]

[He nodded once. Probably a good idea not to dwell.] Lead the way. I'm right behind you.

[bufus]

[ Mm, with the exception of Akihiko not being here it was strangely like old times. What an odd thought to have at a time like this. She shook her head and quickly began to lead the way, walking firmly and deliberately around until they came to a small alleyway that with very little traffic around. ]

This should do. [ She pulled out the Evoker and then said, in a firm but quiet tone: ] I command thee. [ And with that Artemisia appeared and she began to concentrate on the area around. It was frustrating how little ground she could cover, but it was better than nothing. She began to jot things down rather quickly in a small notebook she'd brought. Perhaps she should have asked someone to come along with her sooner, she felt much less urgency when it came to a time limit with someone else to keep a lookout for her. It'd been rather foolish of her to attempt this all on her own. ]

[castoredux]

[He knew better than to interrupt Mitsuru's concentration, but that didn't mean her Persona didn't catch his attention. He'd worked with her for a long time, he was pretty intimately familiar with Penthesilea, but this was new. to his knowledge, Minato was the only person who could use multiple Personas so there was something Mitsuru wasn't telling him.

Who was he kidding? There were probably multiple somethings she wasn't telling him, but this one seemed kind of important. He'd ask when she was finished.

Instead, he moved to the wall, putting his back to his, resting his improvised weapon on the ground by his foot as he kept an eye on either end of the alleyway, casting his gaze upward at times to look out above. He may not have been useful when it came to crowd control or exploiting elemental vulnerabilities, but he was a pretty decent bodyguard.]

[bufus]

Hmm.... I think...this should be good enough. [ Artemisia faded out of existence after around ten minutes scanning and writing. She rubbed her temples and blinked a bit wearily before looking over her notes once more. ]

Thank you. I think that should be good enough for this area. We can move on to another.

[castoredux]

[He looked over to her, standing up from the wall and hoisting the hammer once again over his shoulder. He looks her over as he rejoins her, noting how she rubbed her eyes and nods.]

There are food stalls at the arena. Let's grab somethin', first.

[He didn't wait for an answer before heading toward the exit of the alley.]

What happened to Penthesilea?

[He couldn't think of a more tactful way of asking, and maybe there wasn't one.]

[bufus]

But-- [ mm, no she knew better than to try to argue with him about nourishment. He wasn't wrong either, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten something. Breaks were important too. ]

Alright. I'll let you pick. [ Ah, she should have known this would come up She put one arm around her body and looked down awkwardly. ] She...evolved into Artemisia. It was something of a shock to me as well.

[castoredux]

[There was actually a particular food stall he'd been interested in trying when he'd passed by it, serving flatbread sandwiches with different fillings. He made their way there now.

It was definitely a strange topic for a walk to sandwiches, but it seemed important, and it was something of a revelation.]

Personas...evolve?