Keeping his reservations about Elysium's so-called honour to himself, Kolya bowed to his Lady. As much as he would rather see such threats put down immediately, he deferred to Lady Alexandra's superior knowledge in this department; he was no politician after all. [b]'I have no more to report, my Lady. With your leave, I must attend to my duties.'[/b] Well, actually he didn't have much more to do today; with the tax business dealt with and the border issues passed up the chain, Kolya's card was empty... He could always hijack a patrol to pass the time, or take some troops for training, but both were the job of his direct subordinates. He bowed again, nodding respectfully to Lady Caroline as he exited the room. [i]Fuck it,[/i] he thought flatly. [i]I'll just go have a drink...[/i]

A quick pit stop at his flat and Kolya switched out of the pristine uniform, donning a casual shirt and jeans combination that would let him blend in with the rest of the population. He still slipped a pistol into a hidden holster, just in case. Could never be too careful, what with anarchist nutjobs and Compact agents roving the undercity... He paused for a moment at that thought, cracking a sardonic grin as he realised that for many years, he had fitted into that category. Sparking up a cigarette with an air of laziness, Kolya headed out toward the outskirts.

Despite it being the morning, there were always a lot of bars and clubs open in Aurora. As one of the few fairly safe havens in modern Germany, the city had become a hub of trade and travel, with a bustling service industry cropping up to entertain travellers. Quite aside from a hundred eateries, you could go into the darker areas of the city to find pretty much anything on sale. Kolya himself had partaken more than once, even had his favourite girls in some of the more liberal establishments; Hell, it wasn't as though he had anywhere else to blow his wages. After an hour's relaxed drink and conversation in one of the more up-market bars, he headed off in the direction of a rather seedier area, tracking through some of the quieter parts of town in pursuit of adequate... distraction. A strained voice caught his ear, coming the edge of a nearby public park. Sounded like a girl, angry, upset; most likely a magi. Normally Kolya would have averted his eyes and moved on as the city's overladies generally preferred, but something else the girl said gave him pause. [i]Damn rodent? An Incubator?[/i] The entities responsible for creating magical girls were a mystery to normal folk, half fantasy, half urban legend; he would admit to a certain curiosity. Mindful the dangers of barging in on an emotional magi, Kolya took a seat on a park bench a respectful distance away, casually smoking while watching from the corner of one eye. He didn't recognise the girl; he knew the majority of the city's nobility well enough, but there were hundreds of lower ranked and independent magi floating about. Could be anyone.