[b]Mirror[/b]

“You know this isn’t my strong suit, boss-” Slate starts to say, but cuts off when Matty raises her hand very high. Slate looks at you, back at her. “Uh, go ahead sweetie.” 

Matty blushes and when everyone looks at her briefly goes mute even though she asked to talk, but then she takes a big gulp and starts going. “I um…I think if Isabelle helps, just with an invitation, I could help. I still have space at Trosta’s so it will be weird but not suspicious weird, like the normal kind of weird. Or the weird kind of normal? Like [Watching the visitor taste of new cuisine at a faraway land’s hunt]. “But if we get them there, I think I could do it. I felt like…um, like Isabelle is maybe a bit like me sometimes and if her siblings are all under the same mother who’s like you talked about her, then I think, maybe they’ll be like that too. So I can talk to them and try and I think I can do it.”

Having poured out all her words for this bit of persuasion, she instantly blushes even brighter as she waits for you all to say something.  

***

[b]Solarel[/b]

There’s a flurry of action. Your lunch is finished, and Anna pulls out a small electronic card that she briefly gives to the woman serving the food, who runs it through some sort of electronics with a primitive geist that makes a number embedded with the card go down slightly, then hands it back to her, which is apparently the signal that you should all leave as Anna gets up and makes a gesture indicating she expects you to come with her.

You quickly find yourself in a small studio, just a couple blocks off the port. There does not appear to be any magic sword-wielders jumping out of the woodwork as you follow Anna. Further, Pietro is not matching her magic cape look at all. He’s wearing pants and a t-shirt and not much else. Notably, he isn’t wearing any shoes in the studio, which is unusual for Terenians in your experience, but this doesn’t seem to phase him, being a fellow that stands nearly as tall as you, with short hair and a neat mustache.

The studio itself is not large. There’s just the one shooting area, but if you have the eye for this sort of thing, you’d be able to tell that within the limits of the space, no expense was spared on cameras or lighting. The setup is perfect, the equipment has high quality lenses capable of any shot one might and that is physically possible to achieve in a cramped studio. You can’t tell what color the cramped studio is supposed to be though because every wall is draped floor to ceiling with massive cream-colored blankets for sound treatment to block out the noise of the port. This also means that you may find the space unusually meditative: quiet like the great fields of Rovig are quiet  when the wind dies down. 

Pietro just got off the phone, and he’s now discussing something with Anna, but he’s shouting so you can only hear his half of the conversation while you wait. “...can’t believe you took on another project! That’s…what…five this week? Are you going to do all the editing for them too? You need to sleep sometime Anna! Or at least try! Don’t…no…no no no, don’t look at me with that pout, don’t you dare. …I’m not…look, I’m not saying you can’t edit them all, I’m just saying that we both know you can’t keep this pace forever and then you’ll drop off the face of the map completely for days and I’ll have to get everyone together to pick up the pieces. …Can we just…yes this is a unique opportunity, it’s why I already called the interpreter before we did this. …okay you win, but just remember that the last festival said they don’t take submissions longer than three hours.”

There’s a brief pause, they offer you a soda, which is extremely sweet and otherwise has no particular taste. A few minutes later, the interpreter arrives. She’s a short, mousy sort of girl, brown hair cut to neck length and worn loose, and wearing a ribbed black sweater. 

“Hi, I’m Pia” she says out loud, while making the hand signs for welcoming an honored guest. “How well do you understand Terenian? Do you need me to sign with my speech for better understanding, or should I just speak your signs for the rest of the room?” She says and signs approximately the same thing.

Anna is trying very hard not to vibrate herself through the floor behind Pia and Pietro is trying very hard to stand still and not sigh or close his eyes. 

***

[b]Dolly[/b]

Angela looks where you’re pointing and then hefts you over her shoulder without asking (but while carefully untangling your tail from around her) to wade through the crowd. “I don’t think I’ve heard all your history, actually, little cat. No, a Gardens you say? Do all your people take one of their names for their job, or did you just follow in the footsteps of your family until they found you had a more important talent?”
She considers herself as she gives you the bird’s eye view of the crowd (slightly adjusting you so that your butt is just over her shoulder and you’re looking forward and just a tiny bit down without overbalancing). 

“You were there, through Jade. With the table I mean. You felt lit, saw it while it was happening. But then, it was mixed with so many things. I was just thinking about moving through the space, you know little cat? Don’t you go on ritual hunts, or were you too recently a Gardens for that? I’ll need to tell the people back home that only some of the Hybrasilians do that if so.” She laughs, her long low laugh, which you can feel vibrate through you view her strong arms. “But I move through the space with strength, that is what this body is for. If you make yourself strong and then you never think to use your strength, well what’s the point, ya?”

***

[b]Isabelle[/b]

Asil definitely picks up on your point about Mira: “Mm, also consider, just…for the sake of argument, for speculation, doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, but maybe your mother was actually thrown off by all this? Maybe some of the contingencies she planned for didn’t happen and some things that did happen were way outside her plans. Maybe she’s just feeling off her game. Maybe she just isn’t coming up with a good move, finally feeling her age, that sort of thing. Maybe she got nervous and went to shore up that factory contract? I don’t know all this rich people stuff, but Adriana is the President of all of TC and a champion mecha pilot. Isn’t it possible that the Lozanos are actually the ones that have more to lose if they strain that relationship too far?”

She gives you a look that you don’t see over the backrubs. “Anyway, that’s enough speculation, isn’t it? You’re nearly done with your ice cream, and I’m done with mine. We’ve done all our maintenance, and you’ve got a lot of your schedule freed up. But you should still train, don’t you think? What kind prep do you think you can do against Solarel?”