Rika had to try not to look visibly relieved that Angela had introduced herself, as she was obviously someone whose name was worth knowing, and she hadn't memorized. Things like names, dates, history in general, and anything deemed culturally "important" by the general public seemingly refused to stick in her mind, but thankfully, she came across as more air-headed than insensitive or rude. She also tried not to look happy or surprised that not just her but two others had joined the briefing. Four people wasn't much, but it was better than going alone—which, given the nature of the message, she'd had to assume.

[color=cyan]"You know me,"[/color] she said casually and tried to end it there, but in the tone she said it, it sounded like there should be more. Instead of continuing, though, she just grinned sheepishly. She hated introducing herself, not just because of how unnecessary it was most of the time, but during the few times it [i]did[/i] turn out to be necessary, it proved difficult to jog their memory without making it sound like she was bragging—so instead, she tried to change the subject. [color=cyan]"Uh, yeah! What are we doing here, Doc?"[/color]

Elpidio clapped his hands twice, dimming the lights. "Our story begins... with cattle mutilations!" he began dramatically.

[color=cyan]"I knew it!"[/color] Rika interrupted, instantly at the edge of her seat and unable to restrain herself from pointing at her former professor. [color=cyan]"It WAS aliens!"[/color]

"No," Elpidio replied, bursting her bubble immediately. "Though it does involve mysterious shapes in the sky, cattle mutilations, and monster folklore, so I can see how you'd come to that conclusion," he added to soften the blow. "I'm sure you all know Ern and Darrel, the brothers who oversee what little livestock we have down here in Agartha. Well, you may have heard through the rumor mill about their cows being mysteriously killed, and in a few cases, poisoned," he said as he looked at Angela, who seemed the most likely to have heard a rumor. "That is, at best, destruction of property, and at worst, a poor attempt at getting poisoned meat onto the plates of mediums and their families. So, naturally, there was an investigation, and some suspects caught and arrested. They plead guilty to trespassing, but not guilty to all other charges, and they would have the court believe that they saw a monster, which hasn't been seen for hundreds of years, feasting on the poor bovines."

Rika didn't seem all that fazed by the potential political intrigue, or the monster of the week. It seemed more like she was wracking her brain over something unrelated.

"The plot thickens!" Elpidio said as he dramatically opened one of his cabinets. "I have here..." he said, turning around and presenting it. "A model of the beast. Rex Caelestis." He withdrew a gray gemstone from his pocket and held it to the model, causing an Artifice magic circle to appear. The model dragon came to life, and as Elpidio lifted it up in his hand, it took off and began soaring around the room, before landing on the table in front of Rika. It had a long, smooth, snake-like body and head, no visible eyes, and two large, vampire-like fangs sticking out of its mouth. Its back was green, its belly was black, and its scales were so tightly packed together that they couldn't be seen except from extremely close up. "Beautiful, isn't he? Now watch this," he said as he clapped again, bringing the lights back on. As the lighting changed, the color of the dragon also changed, with the green scales on its back becoming a brighter green, and its belly turning to a sky blue. "Its scales change color based on the time of day. Isn't it incredible?"

[color=cyan]"So you want us to kill one of these and bring you its remains for data, right?"[/color] Rika asked, skipping ahead.

"Right you are, Rika!" Elpidio replied with the voice of a proud father—which, one could suppose, he was the closest thing Rika had to one. "Oh, right, the story!" he realized, taking his hands off the table and standing up straight. "Er, I mean, the briefing! Right, yes," he said, suddenly putting on more of a professional teacher's voice. "Rex Caelestis is one of the Three Kings—the three most powerful monsters to have ever been slain by man. Nobody believed their story until the brothers themselves corroborated it after they saw it too... and tracked it into the crystal mines, found its nest, and torched it," Elpidio added as though it were the punchline to a joke.

[color=cyan]"They did what?!"[/color] Rika blurted out, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Crazy rednecks, right?" Elpidio said with a smile. "Thankfully, nobody has been hurt, yet—but with its nest torched, it has nowhere to settle. So, we have a potentially dangerous beast flying around, camouflaged against the skies of Agartha—but we have the upper hand, because it's only a juvenile, and its been badly burned. It'll be no match for first-rate mediums such as yourself. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said excitedly.

Rika rubbed her temple with her non-armored hand in annoyance. It was becoming increasingly clear that this was more or less a personal favor being dressed as an official mission—but, as the model dragon flew at her and landed on the back of her hand, she looked at it, and found herself thinking that she'd like to do this. It wasn't a bigshot demon or anything; killing it in its weakened state wouldn't prove much, either to herself or to anyone else, and she wasn't terribly interested in adding a new boss to Elpidio's game—but, she did owe him a lot, and it was a danger to the public that had to be taken care of by [i]somebody[/i]. If her mother knew that she was letting that thing fly around so that they could spend her day off together, she would probably shoo her out the door. Well, that settled it.

[color=cyan]"Alright, I'll finish off your legendary monster for you,"[/color] Rika agreed coolly, standing up and kicking her chair into its place beneath the table in one smooth motion.

"Excellent! Any other takers?" Elpidio asked as the model beast began belching a harmless black smoke at Rika's face.