3rdangel | A visit to Alexandria.

A visit to Alexandria.

Mikoto has been almost overly cautious in picking the time to confront the younger of her brothers. She'd waited until she was certain Regulus had recovered, found suitable Gaian style clothing, and had the Mages arrange for transportation from their Village. They could PINPoint there, thus avoiding too many guests at the Desert Palace.

Mikoto has already dressed, and is in the sitting room of Kuja's former quarters.

So is Regulus, but he's still glancing over his clothing options with a look that, under the initial calm veneer, hints that he's more than a bit disbelieving that there are people who actually dress this way in public. It seems to have almost rendered him incapable of speech. He gives a particularly incredulous look to a wide-brimmed red hat with a big white feather in it. "Rather... foppish isn't it?"

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Which sends Regulus into a brief fit of blinking as if someone had just asked if he wore underwear. Bloody hell, he didn't think he'd ever get used to all the differences. "Ah, yes. To fly on. I suppose mentioning Quidditch would only confuse matters." He sighs.

"Yes. But that's not such a bad thing," she adds, encouraging even as she feigns sympathy. "So... what is Quidditch?" Apart from a very entertaining word to say!

"Well, it's a sport, played on broomsticks..," and then Regulus has his wand out, using it to 'sketch' a glowing 3-D scribble of a Quidditch Pitch in midair.

This soon attracts Magelets, who crowd around to watch.

"There are seven players on a team - three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper, and a Seeker, and four balls - a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch..." He trails off briefly as he notes that there are seven Magelets. If he could just find sport equipment and get them up on brooms... they'd still be lacking an opposing team. Oh well.

"Now, each end of the field has three hoops at different heights, from thirty to fifty feet up in the air. The Keeper's job is to protect the hoops. The Chasers pass the Quaffle and try to get it through the opposing team's hoops..." He watches to make sure the Magelets, and Telrim, are following so far.

Telrim's a little startled when he draws his wand. She relaxes swiftly and leans forward to study his diagram.

I like that, Natasha says, as they watch the drawing. I mean, it'd make explanations much easier, wouldn't it? she adds, trying to be practical.

I'm sure it would... if we were planning to explain anything. But when all is going well, the aliens give the intel, and the Yeerks are happy to devour it.

"That seems pretty straightforward..." Telrim murmurs, giving a nod. Quidditch is comparable to other human sports, then. Those don't usually interest her, but if it's significant to Regulus and his people, that's what matters.

Wizards playing sports... kind of weird to imagine, her headmate remarks.

And since the Magelets seem to get it so far as well, Regulus continues. "Now, the Bludgers are smaller, and very hard. And they're enchanted to knock players off their brooms." He'd drawn a soccer-sized ball in the air with the word 'Quaffle' under it, and now draws a roughly softball sized one with the word 'Bludger' underneath.

"That's not very nice of them," says Juro.

Regulus just chuckles. "Well, that's what the Beaters on each team are for. They have bats, you see, and it's their job to knock the Bludgers away from their own team and towards the other team."

Telrim blinks and looks up at Regulus, clearly - and genuinely - surprised. This game just got much more intriguing. "Really? So you're... flying under fire." There's an amused twitch at the corners of her mouth as she adds, "Your Beaters would need to be extremely good at their job, then."

"Of course," says Regulus. "And it's especially important that the Seeker not be distracted, as it's their job to find and catch..," he draws a very small, winged ball - roughly the size of a golf-ball - in the air with his wand, "the Golden Snitch."

This feels like it deserves an 'ooooh'. Or so Natasha thinks. Her more dignity-minded Yeerk doesn't supply one, but she does focus on this smallest ball intently. "Is that really how big it is?"

Fortunately, some of the Magelets provide any requisite 'Oooohs'.

Regulus nods, still smiling. "Yes, and it's fast and has an erratic flight pattern." He mutters something in what sounds like oddly mangled pseudo-Latin, and gives the sketched Snitch a poke, making the drawing mimic a real one and zip around the immediate area.

The Magelets are fascinated by this. And it seems that while the species in general has trouble reading anything smaller than extra large print, small moving objects are much easier for them to follow.

Telrim has to rein in her chuckles at the way their little heads follow the Snitch. "All right - the Quaffle gives you points and the Bludgers might knock your opponents around - so what happens if you catch the Snitch?"

It must be something worthwhile, right?

"Catching the Snitch is worth a hundred and fifty points, and ends the game." He's also watching the Magelets watch the Snitch-sketch and finds it adorable. "It's just a sketch, so it will vanish if you catch it... but why don't you give it a try?"

That's all the prompting they need, and soon there are Magelets after the little flying ball.

Regulus draws a few extras to keep them occupied.

"Oh, very good," Telrim chuckles, though from the way she's still studying the original diagram, she might be talking about that. She tears her gaze from it - really, holograms you can manipulate for no apparent effort: just imagine what else his people must have to offer - and looks at Regulus himself. "Do you play, then?"

Not 'did'. She's not going to be the one to say that, even if it were strictly accurate.

Mikoto keeps her silence, but is thinking that the Snitch unbalances the game. Why, after all, would anyone end it when their team was far enough behind to lose? And if winning or losing then all came down to the Seeker, where was the incentive for the others to play?

"Not professionally, but I was Seeker for my House Team in school for a few years," says Regulus, most of his attention on the Magelets as they waddle around and chase the Snitch-sketches. He wonders if they'd be more or less clumsy on brooms.

"You must have some reflexes..." She sounds impressed as she looks up. "It certainly sounds more fun than football. Kind of realistic, too," she adds, almost murmuring. To Telrim's mind it's a reasonable start for a training game, in fact. The way the classes of 'troop' are divided is rather familiar, if rudimentary.

She cocks her head at the way Regulus is watching the Magelets, then lowers her voice, sounding amused: "Wondering where you can find brooms their size?"

Regulus has never heard of football. Probably some muggle sport... watch him pretend he didn't hear that part. He chuckles at the mention of finding the Magelets brooms. "Ah, well, they do make them small enough. But... not here." He almost looks like the thought of home is going to put a dip in his mood, but then there's a sudden distraction from the Magelets.

"I caught one!" chirps Kaze, who fell on his tummy in the process.

Regulus can't help but think they look oddly like penguins in that position.

Kaze gets to his feet, bits of rapidly fading gold sparkles on one glove and down the front of his jacket. He didn't just catch it, he squooshed it.

Mikoto just notes that they're approaching the Gate and should be in Alexandria soon.

"No, but I'm sure I could find-" Telrim bursts into chuckles at the triumphant Magelets. Good grief, they're so cute she's sure they could mind-control humans. Actually. There's a thought. "Well done!"

She steps forward, willing to help Kaze up until he does it himself. Well and good. She looks over to Mikoto, noticing the Genome's silence abruptly and wanting to check her reaction. "They're good at chasing, aren't they, Mikoto?"

"Yes, good job," Regulus will give Kaze a pat on the hat, which makes the Magelet bounce happily before rejoining the others.

"Of course," Mikoto says, watching them start to chase the remaining sketches. "The species' original purpose would have required being able to track targets."

"And now they can use that talent for their own purposes," Telrim says cheerfully. Or... whatever they're persuaded are their purposes.

She moves to the side of the deck to have a look at how they're progressing. In-atmosphere transports always feel so maddeningly slow, but experience - and knowing she has an instant way home in case of hunger pangs - are allowing the Yeerk to relax right now.

There's no answer to that from Mikoto, who still finds relying on one's own purposes to be something done when one no longer has a purpose to serve.

They're approaching a large gate built into the mountain range ahead. Thankfully, it's open.

Vivi's watching over the railing now as well, dividing his attention between that and the Magelets.

((Pic of South Gate as shown in game, and some info))

Telrim leans over a bit, studying the gateway with delighted fascination. Such a primitive barrier and yet, from a human perspective, the scale feels impressive. There was a time when it would have awed her too...

"A gate like that raises all kinds of questions," she remarks out loud. "But I guess no-one on this world is a stranger to trouble."

"I believe they were meant to open routes for trade without sacrificing the defense the mountains provided," says Mikoto, as they start to fly through the passage.

Regulus wonders why someone couldn't just fly over, but soon decides the airship just can't quite manage that altitude. The right broom and a few protective charms, though...

The Magelets are still chasing the few remaining snitch-sketches, while Vivi watches. He's actually avoiding looking at the scenery at this point.

Which Regulus notices. "Is something the matter, Vivi?"

"N-no, not really," says the little Mage. "I was just thinking... about Black Waltz Three. We fought near here."

"They must be hard to close in a hurry," Telrim says, glancing at Mikoto. The Genome's been so quiet on the ride - she's not sure if it's due to the company, or Mikoto's characteristic economy when it comes to doing anything.

At the nearby conversation, she turns to look at Vivi and Regulus, but keeps silent for now. The name 'Three' implies it was one of Kuja's original creations, judging from the Mages' naming pattern. And Regulus has a knack for talking to the Mages - she's liable to learn as much by simply listening as by butting in.

"It's possible it had a Mist-powered mechanism at one time. Unfortunately, I know little about its exact operation," says Mikoto.

"I see," says Regulus. "Something unpleasant to spoil the view."

Vivi nods slightly, and glances towards the Magelets. He'll say no more about all of that where they might hear.

As they leave the mountain pass, they'll be able to see Alexandria in the near distance.

Telrim's gaze returns to Mikoto for a second. "Oh- I see. I wonder what they do now..." How much of this world was accustomed to running on Mist?

Turning back, she catches sight of the city and leans forward again. "Oh, look! Is that it already?"

"My most recent information was that many devices were being adapted for steam power," says Mikoto. She glances at the capital city, surrounded by its cliffs and waterfalls, and nods. "Yes."

Regulus expects the place would have a great view, amd it looks like something from a storybook... but... "Whyever did they build it someplace this high? Doesn't it make trade difficult?"

"Alexandria was built after fighting destroyed many of the civilizations on Gaia. Exposure to the Mist made them more prone to this, so the city was built high enough to avoid such exposure," says Mikoto.

((Here's a wiki entry with some reference pics for the view))

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