There exists a world where, when Alexa sees the viewport, she marches to the front of the room. Mounts the dais, clears her throat, and calls for attention. Yes, yes, thank you for coming, she would like to formally announce that the Pallas Rex is present and available for questions and/or vengeance, as the situation requires.

Because, yes, she's bad at parties. But she knows damn well what it means when the leader of a group holds a party with such a prominent viewport. It means that there's about to be a demonstration, a display of force, an execution, an object lesson. Something terrible is about to happen to Ridenki, and all the Hermetics are going to be able to see it in excruciating detail.

[i]It traps them in visions of the past.[/i] They can't! The Alced have suffered enough! She can't let them bring the planet back to the way things were!

It's only the touch of a hand on hers that draws her out of her panic. And even then, it's not til she looks at Epistia, takes in the quiet concern on her face, that she realizes how abruptly she locked up at the sight of that window.

And she doesn't even have the words to explain herself.

She forces a breath, and then two, and carefully squeezes back. Yes. This is workable. She can do this. She just needs to figure out which of these nigh-identical coats has a Birmingham inside, get them alone, and make her case.

Courts. She can do this. Follow the patterns, watch who's mingling with whom, and find the one who's at the center of all the motion.

[Look Closely with damaged sense: 4,4,4, +0. 8. How could I get Birmingham by himself?]