As a sudden weight slammed against her barrier, Seras’ gemstones dropped to the ground and a shudder arced down her spine. [i]Sweet Arceus above.[/i] She took several ragged breaths while the hammering inside her chest settled to a steady pounding, arms tensing around herself under the prolonged strain on her powers. As the pressure against her barrier peaked and then lifted, she glanced up to watch the green-haired terror rising from the ground, an absurd grin spread across his face.

[i]Mind if I… heaven and stars, the[/i] nerve [i]of this man.[/i]

Seras pulled herself upright and tugged irritably at the ruffled folds of her dress. “Forgive me,” she noted dryly, “but I don’t much trust your aim at the moment.”

With an absent wave of one hand, her barrier dissolved into a shimmering cloud of amber lights. Sighing for catharsis as her nerves settled down, she ran one hand absently across the back of her head and glanced around at the crowd. Several of the attendants were staring slack-jawed at the scene - from the pale face and wide eyes peering out from under the attendants’ desk, Marcus looked gobsmacked. [i]And things were going so nicely.[/i] Raising a placating palm towards the attendants, she turned her full attention towards the flying avatar.

“If you need a target to aim for, then I can raise some diamonds well above the crowd for you. Need to worry about your shots going wide.” Illustrating the point, she closed her eyes momentarily and furrowed her brow - several cherry-pink gemstones blossomed into existence around her shoulders like ice crystallizing in midair, joined shortly afterwards by the fallen gemstones floating up from the pavement into a reassuring ring. [i]Maybe things can carry on peacefully from here.[/i] Feeling the stare of the crowd on her back, she nudged the gemstones hovering in front of her to either side, then offered a hand for the stranger to shake. “But before any of that, can I trouble you for your name?”