[color=ADFF2F][center][h2]Rottweil Berzinsky, Master of Lancer[/h2]
[h3]Walkabouts, Commercial District[/h3][/center][/color][hr]

“Huh? What kinda stupid question is that?” Rottweil laughed. “Why’s the sky blue? Why’s anything the way it is? Grass grows, birds fly, the sun shines- my family likes lizards.”

Seeing the obvious disappointment with this answer, Rottweil sighed at his Servant. 

“Alright, fine. You want my answer, or the answer my ancestors woulda given ya? Because I’m sure there was a reason at some point but if you ask me, it’s all just history now. Just the same old bullshit.”

Another gecko crawled out of his sleeve and onto the back of his hand. Rottweil held it up to appreciate it. 

“Me? I like ‘em because they’re pure. You strip something down to the bare necessities, everything you need to survive, and whaddya get? A lizard. Nature’s perfect survival machine.”

The admiration in his voice was plain as day. This was a man who not only tolerated, but [i]celebrated[/i] the inhuman. Was it just a harmless quirk? There were a lot of dedicated animal lovers out there who liked to exaggerate and emboss the merits of their preferred species. Or was there more to it than that? 

The hours passed by. The winding, roundabout route Rottweil was taking, if you could call it one at all, snaked through Miyama Town, down the Riverside, then back to the Commerce District through the Native District. More miles walked, more geckos dropped. Until finally…

[i]”Okay Mr. Lightning Bolt, sun’s gettin’ real low. I think we’ve done our due diligence for the day, what do you say we go hunting?”[/i]

[hr]

[color=8B4513][center][h2]Rider[/h2]
[h3]Abandoned Warehouse, Harbor[/h3][/center][/color][hr]

“Hah! You magi certainly like to stick your noses up at danger, don’t you?”

The tacit threat came from above Kāi Chū, from a woman leaning against the catwalk. How she’d gotten there would’ve been unclear to the average person, nevermind how she avoided injuring herself when she hoisted herself over the railing and landed gracefully in front of the other woman. To Kāi Chū however, this was normal. Rider was, after all, her Servant. 

“I would’ve had anyone else in the ring for saying that,” Rider elaborated, grinning. “It’s true though, I won’t deny it. We were defeated here without ever setting foot on shore. Though those [i]were[/i] my uncle’s men, so it’s no surprise to me that they lacked the spirit of a true Mongol warrior,” she said, half-laughing and half-scoffing. “Those who forsake our ways forsake the blessing of the Eternal Blue Sky. I trust you won’t make the same mistakes, Master?”

She crossed her arms. Rider’s bearing was ferocious, yet regal. The aura around her was almost that of a tiger, something so comfortable in its unquestioned superiority that it didn’t bother with watching what it said or changing itself to appease others. 

“As for your ‘works’… I’ve never seen dolls behave so much like men. It’s unnatural.” Rider looked around the workshop, her eyes following the not-quite-right movements of the dolls. Their posture was rigid but also relaxed, the movement of their joints smooth and seamless. Were any of the dockworkers to stumble upon the scene, she had no doubt they would all stop what they were doing and offer them a hearty, wholly convincing “hello”. They were an utterly perfect imitation of humanity, and it was that perfection that gave them away. She resisted the sudden urge to shudder. “But the unnatural is itself is the nature of magi, so I’ll make the best that I can out of it.”

Rider gazed out at the horizon, the city awash in hues of orange and red and the shadows of a setting sun. It was nearly time. The curtains were about to open on the theater of war, and the first act promised the introduction of some of this battle’s major players. It was a good time to go out and gather intel, but also a good time to keep their heads down, lest they attract the attention of someone they couldn’t afford to be enemies with just yet. 

That left a question for them to answer: who did they want to be, the main characters or a third act surprise?

Rider set aside her discomfort regarding the dolls and turned to face her Master. “It is time we settle on our battle plans. I trust you have something in mind? Walk me through it and I’ll do my best to fill in any gaps.”