Mosaic's head tilts, the way it always does when she's surprised. She frowns, and gently drags a claw tip across her jaw in deep contemplation. Her tail uncurls and drops down to her feet, and she takes several loud sniffs of the air looking for... not lies, really, but mistakes? Confusion and uncertainty have a grassy aftertaste like very bitter weeds, but if there's any present in the air today then it doesn't really line up with this situation. 

"To the Surveyor, really?" she asks, "The whole town? Must've found something big I guess."

Tap tap, tap click. Her claws slide over one another in a new rhythm that has already forgotten her whistled song. All around her the Lyrii are slowly giving up on carrying it on without her. The air washes itself clean a few breaths later. Silence, except for the bustle of town and the murmuring of this new crowd. Clean, except for the scent of the markets and of food, in particular the crab scent she carries with her and will continue doing so until her hands become sufficiently covered in dirt to obliterate the aura she's soaked them in all morning. 

A normal day, in other words. Completely ordinary and devoid of the magic that made the walk down here feel so special. Mosaic stands alongside Sunflower, just watching the crowd. She says nothing for a very long time. 

"...Hukou. Hmmm, hmmmmmm. Certifications like that don't just fall from the sky, though. And there's the whole issue of space and accommodation where we're not exactly empty ourselves. Right? I wonder how many we can take in..."

And then she shrugs, as if sloughing off the weight of some difficult burden onto the ground at her feet. Her spine straightens again, lifting her several extra centimeters into the sky. Her shoulders lighten and her eyes flash with a divine spark of promise. Her smile is as full of teeth as ever, but with the shadows lifted off her face at this new angle it is dazzling where a moment ago it might have seemed dangerous. She had been a creature, and now she seems again the child of a god. Her muscles quiver in anticipation of the work even as her skin itches worse than ever with the threat of her hunt remaining unfinished for even longer. 

But really, she'd said she was going to be hauling stone anyway.

"Nothing for it then. I need to get moving if I'm gonna get everything done in time. Let's see, let's see... forty heads. Call it sixty to be safe. That's... seven or so tons of material? I'll clear the trees on my way. I'm not particularly great at architecture, but construction is just shaping and placing. If they're really from Rosedam then they can take it from there no problem. You think so too, right? Tell them, won't you? They shouldn't be asking for hukou. If the mayor gets annoyed he'll have them gone before I can finish."

She tosses her head back and laughs, and the echo of her happiness hangs in the air where she herself had been a moment ago. Her legs strike the cobblestone like bolts of lightning, doom, doom, doom. Already sweat is beading on her face, but she doesn't care at all. There's a need for quickness, now, and running has always felt the best among all her talents. 

She gives no thought to what the Mayor or the Royal Surveyor or anyone else might say against her plan. Always easier to ask forgiveness than permission, she's always found. And even if they wind up saying no, someone will be able to find a use for a new neighborhood eventually right?