3rdangel | A visit to Alexandria.

Telrim's grimace hides the smirk she's stifling - this is Burmecian diplomacy, oh dear. Vivi draws a sympathetic look as soon as she has her amusement under control, and Regulus a nod of emphatic agreement.

And then she pauses, a remark about needing an escort dying in her throat. 'His Majesty'? Well. This day gets more and more interesting. And the insight into local government should make up for any opportunities lost to the restrictions of a formal environment...

Such calculations take less than a minute, and then the Controller's tilting her head, smiling a little wanly. "Well, no-one got hurt, anyway. And it won't be a problem any further, will it?"

((You have my sympathies. The changes are maddening, although at least I can actually use non-default icons again...))

Regulus blinks at the title as well, before deciding that Zidane is still, based on what Mikoto's told him, a squib.

"Certainly not, ma'am," says Steiner, who seems to plan on accompanying them all the way to the palace. Vivi takes the opportunity to get caught up with his friend, while the Magelets trail along after and listen in.

Oddly, while the city guards were male, it seems the palace guards are all female.

Telrim settles back into walking and observing - especially when it comes to the security arrangements. It takes a while for the pattern to sink in, but as guard after guard proves female, she starts to wonder.

"Is there some rule about how the guards are recruited?" she asks Mikoto quietly. It occurs to her a second later that the Genome might have other things on her mind at this point, but she still wants to know.

"I'm unaware of any actual regulations," Mikoto says, "but I remember being told that General Beatrix prefers to work with her own gender."

They're soon lead to a waiting room of sorts, and it won't be too long after that before someone else joins them. It's easy to guess this must be Zidane. So far, he's been the only person in Alexandria with a tail. He and Mikoto almost look like they could be twins, not surprising given the origins of Genomes. He also looks a little uncomfortable in the fine clothes he'd been forced to wear because of visiting officials. He blinks at Mikoto... he'd heard things about girls and growth spurts, but she's still three years older than he expected.

"Really? I wonder why..." Although it's as worth notice, to her, that said officer has sufficient power to indulge such a preference whatever her motives.

Though she tries not to act too eager to look around once they reach the waiting room, Telrim indulges her curiosity for the little time they wait. She's across the room from Mikoto when Zidane enters, fingers raised to trace the outline of a painting on the wall. She drops her hand swiftly, (along with the intent to check for any security on the art) and turns on her heel. It's a good opportunity to study the third Genome: while he stares at Mikoto, she can stare at him unnoticed...

Regulus actually looks more at ease than Zidane does, odd given that it's the latter who lives here.

"Hello, Zidane. This is Natasha, and Regulus Black. I mentioned them in the letter I sent to you," Mikoto keeps social formalities brief and curt, they're really not her strong point. Noticing Zidane looking a bit uneasy, Mikoto seems very slightly amused. "Are you finding life in the canary cage uncomfortable?"

"Nah, it's just these clothes," Zidane replies, loosening the collar a bit. "Any time there's some formal thing, I have to dress up. At least Tantalus always used elastic in the costumes..."

"One would think royalty would have better tailors," comments Regulus. "Perhaps you should have words with them."

Telrim drops her gaze instantly as she's named, inclining her head politely.

She shoots a glance over to Regulus: he's clearly very comfortable, speaking so casually. Granted he is of some kind of nobility and she isn't familiar with how humans conduct themselves around their rulers (as opposed to proud and triggerhappy vissers).

Since apparently there's no reason to fear here, the Controller summons a small smile and nods agreement. "It's not as if you have to take whatever they give you. Though maybe your clothes are the last thing you should worry about."

She glances toward Mikoto, a reflection of whence that thought stems.

"You look strange in those clothes," is Vivi's comment, as he gets a hug hello from Zidane. He'd tried to gather up the Magelets, but it had proven futile. They're scattered all over, curiously exploring the room.

"So..," Zidane seems a bit awkward when it comes to talking to Mikoto. Truth was, he'd never really known what to do about her. "The Mages said you left. And... you look older. What happened? Where have you been?"

"The Desert Palace," is Mikoto's simple answer.

It's enough to make Zidane go pale.

It amuses Natasha to note that Zidane's attitude to Mikoto is not unlike Telrim's toward her mother: the awkward uncertainty, the dutiful, stilted asking-after because it's expected, not because both parties are eager to catch up.

It does not amuse Telrim: but she has her moment when Mikoto names the palace. The Controller's mouth draws into a slight, brief smile. Oh, his face. He knows, then, where this is going. She doesn't doubt he'll be squirming for as long as it takes Mikoto to confirm exactly how much they already know. And some time after, if he's pressed to explain himself.

"It's a lovely place," she says herself, her tone even and perhaps incongruously pleasant. "Dusty, yes, but fascinatingly well-equipped. Scientifically speaking."

Zidane goes even paler at that, because now he's sure they've gone in Kuja's lab. "Did you... um..."

"Unseal the room in the lab? No," Mikoto says, still sounding as calm as if she was discussing weather. "Were you going to tell me?"

"I... I thought about it. I was... but..," Zidane moves toward a window, and Mikoto keeps a close watch on him. "I heard you weren't dealing so well with, well, everything. Being on Gaia and all. And then you left, and... Really, what was I supposed to say about any of it?"

"Quite a judgment call." Telrim's tone is light, perfectly ambiguous - it could equally be sympathy or scepticism. She glances toward Mikoto, shrugs a little.

It's been too long since she played this game. She hasn't had a fellow Yeerk invite it in ages and no prisoners for longer. And it's actually more fun, with an outsider. There's no disappointment attached.

"Kuja's the one who sealed himself in the lab, I couldn't have done that," Zidane says. Which, given his poor grasp of magic is true. "He was afraid of dying, and we couldn't find any answers in those books. I couldn't even read them." He shrugs slightly. "I don't even really see where there's that much of a difference... dead, or sealed away forever. But I guess it made a difference to him, somehow."

"Well, usually one's permanent, and the other might not be," Regulus says in a tone that sounds slightly bored and slightly disbelieving.

"And there are probably less than a handful of people on Gaia that wouldn't tear the Desert Palace apart to make sure it was permanent," Zidane counters. "Kuja started a huge war and tried to destroy the whole world. People don't just forget things like that." And he darts a glance at Mikoto at that.

She just scowls a bit at the reminder of the world her brother did destroy. "Let's just say I know there were extenuating circumstances," she says coldly. Really, she now blamed Garland for that more than Kuja... He would have known as well as she did not to push the unstable silver-haired Genome to the point of what had appeared to be a complete psychotic break.

"We know they won't forget," Vivi says quietly, looking down at his feet.

Regulus goes over to give Vivi a pat, and glances to Zidane, "I do hope that guard mentioned the problem we encountered on the way here?"

Zidane nods. "Garnet's taking care of that... I'm not really good at political stuff."

Telrim holds her tongue for a while, considering how much she's likely to gain from taking sides. Little yet, though perhaps she's established her sympathy with Mikoto well enough. She settles into an expression of concern, and then frowns deeply at Zidane's point about Kuja's crimes.

People don't forget - but people change, and worlds... Something to consider. Is that what Kuja was waiting on, as much as the means to heal him? More importantly, can this be of use to her people somehow...?

Natasha makes concerned noises about Vivi. The Yeerk drags herself back to the conversation. "Maybe it's better, in your position. I mean, you'd want to pick your battles, and... just let other people handle the rest for you." Does that trouble him, perhaps, leaving the protection of his friends to strangers while he smiles diplomatically?

Well, it's always bothered her.

From the way Zidane's tail lashes, not to mention the scowl, it grates on him too. "What I wanted to do would have caused a 'diplomatic incident'," he grumbles. "Playing hero is a lot easier than playing politics..."

"You were gone for three years. You were not at the Desert Palace that long. In that time, did it not occur to you that a life spent in the cage with your little canary might not suit you?" Mikoto almost looks faintly amused.

"Why do you keep calling her that? Her name's Garnet," Zidane replies. "And, yeah... I didn't think it would be easy, but I love her. I... really don't know if you can understand that." The only examples he can use as reference are Kuja, Mikoto, Garland, and the empty Genomes before they'd moved in with the Mages, but to him none of the Terrans seemed all that 'normal' emotionally.

The tip of Mikoto's tail flicks slightly before it wraps around her leg. "And yet it took you three years to return, without so much as a letter beforehand to let her know you weren't dead."

"Hey, I'd just found out I came from some creepy parasite planet, nearly got killed in that damned tree, and then had Kuja decide to time-freeze himself or whatever that was. I had a lot to think about," Zidane snaps back. "I couldn't come back until I was sure it would be safe... That I'd be safe. You know what Kuja did. I had to be sure it was because he was crazy and not just some kind of weird Genome thing that would make me go nuts."

Telrim's starting to become familiar with Mikoto's body language, and once again she silently commends the Genome's self-control. Zidane might want to be careful his political incompetence doesn't cause personal damage...

And this might be a good time to deflect some of the tension between them, give Mikoto some breathing room. The Controller blinks, looks puzzled. Even disbelieving. "By isolating yourself...?"

"If I was going to suddenly go crazy and start tossing fireballs around or something, better somewhere far away from anyone else than in the middle of Alexandria," says Zidane. "After a while, I figured if I hadn't gone nuts yet it wasn't going to happen."

"And, of course, you didn't think to ask about such things," says Mikoto.

"If I did go nuts, well... better if everyone thought I died at the Iifa Tree."

From the less than amused expression on Mikoto's face, Zidane is only reinforcing her opinion that he's an idiot.

Telrim gives a sad smile, one still tinged with disbelief - exasperation, even. "You... really don't understand how these things work, do you?"

It's not even a falsified reaction. To run away from assistance - or at least proper supervision - when one suspects their mind isn't stable goes against every sane Yeerk instinct as well as proper procedure. Blind panic is understandable, but actually deserting?

Even the tail-wrap method isn't completely hiding Mikoto's irritated tail-twitch by now.

But it's Regulus that speaks up, in a tone that manages to sound innocently puzzled. Well, mostly innocently puzzled. "Pardon me, perhaps I'm not particularly well informed regarding these matters, but, I had heard that Kuja destroyed an entire planet. If you were concerned of doing the same, I'm sorry to say I don't understand how staying away from a city would have made the least difference... It couldn't have been that you wanted to be far enough away that no one could stop you."

Was that actually a stifled snerk from Mikoto? Well, the tip of her tail isn't twitching now. "I expect that he found the possibility of having a discussion with me somehow more disturbing than the idea that his existence put all of Gaia in danger."

"It wasn't that..," Zidane protests, but even he realizes it really doesn't look good. And he really doesn't have any other answers. "It made sense at the time..."

Telrim blinks at Regulus's suggestion as if astonished by the insinuation... but her mouth twitches for a split second, all the same. How much power Zidane really has is irrelevant for this. It's what harm he thinks he could do and how big a mistake he made. The truth? That can wait.

In the meantime, he sounds like he could use an out.

"I'm sure it did." Almost, almost sympathetic. "Considering what you'd just been through. But that's exactly why you need other people at times like those. Someone who knows enough to give you a second opinion." She pauses. "I mean, if you think you're going to go crazy, it might be smart to talk to someone who isn't."

“Yeah, well... by then they probably already thought I was dead. It just seemed easier to let everyone go on thinking that until I'd had time to sort things out.” Zidane shrugs. “Besides... it's all over now anyway. Why dig any of this up?”

“Why?” Mikoto really can't believe he's dense enough to ask that, even with her low opinion of him. “Are you asking for reasons other than finding Kuja has been in stasis in the Desert Palace after you told everyone he was dead?”

Zidane sighs. “Look, Mikoto. You need to get over this and move on. I know I haven't been around a lot, but that doesn't mean I didn't hear things when I got back about that.”

Mikoto's eyes narrow at that. “So your suggestion is to ignore this... as you have for the last three years.”

“There isn't anything else that can be done about it!”

Meanwhile, behind all the adults, the Magelets are still exploring every nook and cranny of the room. Behind draperies, peeking in giant vases, and so on. There's even one under a couch.

Mikoto glares at Zidane as if trying to decide if his apparent intention to leave Kuja in stasis forever is the result of ignorance, apathy, or both... Then she decides she really doesn't care about his motives. Her tone is icily civil as she says, “I only have two further questions and then I think we can both thankfully dispense with this mockery of a family reunion...”

Move on? Telrim winces - or perhaps Natasha does, and the Yeerk with her. That's a dismissal, not advice - it hardly ever works as anything else. How could it now, when Mikoto's pain is so fresh? The Genome's strong-willed, but she's no Yeerk.

She backs off, frowning and keeping in the knowledge that there is plenty to be done about it. Zidane doesn't need to know, and as far as she can see he won't be any use. Yet. The Controller glances toward the Magelets, wondering if she can put that eager exploration to use in a minute or two. If even a couple of them were to wander off into the castle, everyone else would be needed to track them down...

Regulus has managed to make his way all the way over to the other side of the room, while trying not to look like he did so to avoid being too close to Mikoto and Zidane for the moment. It would seem he's had some practice at this.

"Miko..," Zidane starts, but a glare from the other Genome gets him to shut up.

"As to the first... I've had access to recordings of your encounter with Kuja shortly before Terra's destruction, however there were issues with the sound." She avoids telling him directly that Garland's half of the conversation simply did not record. After all, what she wants is confirmation as to whether there was any message from Garland at all, or if Kuja had been having auditory hallucinations. Either could explain the one-sided discussion on the recording. "I would like to know what you heard shortly before Kuja entered Trance."

Zidane's tail flicks and he looks out a window as he replies. "No one else heard anything... Like when we went to Oeilvert. It sounded like Garland, but I don't understand how. He said something about how Kuja's victory didn't mean anything." Zidane's face screws up a bit as he tries to remember, "That he could never build an eternal kingdom because he was going to die. He was only supposed to last until I was old enough to replace him."

Mikoto nods slightly, it was what she had expected. And she couldn't help but note a certain relation to her second question. "And you still plan to stay here, with your little Gaian queen. Did you learn nothing at all that would make you reconsider that?"

"No, I didn't," Zidane says without hesitation. "Mikoto, the only memories I had of Terra were of a weird blue light. Anything I learned, anything I could learn won't change that. Gaia is my home. And if what I am causes any problems for me and Daggar in the future, well, we'll deal with that when it happens. I'm not going to ruin now thinking about things that might happen in the future. I got over that before I came back."

There's a Magelet peeking out the door now. It probably wouldn't take much to nudge them into exploring further.

((As I mentioned, I've had to pretty much give up on LJ. It just does not work for me, and I'm still surprised I managed to get it to load this time. I've archived things to dreamwidth, including this journal... so we can pick up there if you'd like or I can try to continue here. Just respond to whichever one to let me know. The Dreamwidth thread is here: http://wilywars-archive.dreamwidth.org/205154.html And I'll hit import again after this sends (IF it sends) to make sure it's current.))

A visit to Alexandria.

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