[hr]ATTN: [hr][hider=Addressing The Elephant]As the refugees took varying degrees and types of interest in the actions of the Mutant Mamono, their running commentary didn't go amiss. It wasn't anything they hadn't overheard in Varjo, nor was it entirely unwarranted - Mamono came in all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds, but they held one unshakeable tenant thanks to the licentious strumpet turned tyrant Demon Lord(ess) that created their kith and kin:
[center][h2][i][b]A husband at any cost. A wife by any means.[/b][/i][/h2][/center]
It was a clarion call in the back of their minds; an intrinsic order; an ingrained instinct; it mattered not in subjects of age or lawfulness, nor in terms of blood or fealty; it was preternatural, the need to breed with a man, be he passing stranger or immediate family.

Humans had all rights to fear them; to fear that one day, they might succumb to their baser selves, and push them to the ground - women injured, men defiled, monsters sated. It was rational to fear losing to a force that was supernaturally born to dominate you, if the moment struck her to do so, and have your will to resist sexual robbed from you by poisonous magic that converted human pain into monstrous pleasure, until you were nothing but a possession called "Husband" for your "Wife" and her future "Children".

Being born Mutants, Human-Mamono hybrids of science, and raised in the harsh, hateful environment of the underworld of Varjo, gave the Claremont Sisters an "outsider existing within" perspective that allowed them to shoulder the burdens of their existence by leaning into each other for what their baser instincts required and their humanity reviled.

Instead of victimizing others, they relied on each other for release, both sexual and emotional, to resist the siren song of a man, but they couldn't prove that to strangers that knew only their own horror stories and those passed down by victims.

But, maybe...

Ripcord jammed her shovel into the ground, and planted her heel on it, before clearing her throat with a strong, "[color=008000][b][i]Ahem![/i][/b][/color]"

"[color=008000]My name is Ripcord Claremont, and I can hear you. I can hear you, and I can understand you, because I am with you,[/color]" Ripcord says, "[color=008000]I, too, fear Mamono to the point of hatred, myself. I dread what they can do, what they [i]will[/i] do...[/color]"

Umami paused her digging, looking down; her rabbit features shifted back into human ones, as she worried her lower lip, and wrung her hands. "[color=E97451]Mamono can be cruel... scary... [/color]" she says, "[color=E97451]Humans have to be, too, in order to fight back and win. That's what the Old Man used to tell us...[/color]" Ripcord absorbed her shovel back into her slime, as Umami drew to her side. "[color=E97451]My name is Umami Claremont! I... forgot to say,[/color]" she blushed.

"[color=008000]Humans created us in a laboratory in Varjo, Mamono made to be weapons against other Mamono and Humans alike,[/color]" Ripcord says, "[color=008000]Boss Kikyo saved us, because she believed in both our Humanity and Mamonohood, and Underboss Takeshi seconds her belief in that![/color]"

"[color=E97451]They asked that we come here to help, so... here we are![/color]" Umami says, summoning a bright smile to her face like a puppy.

"[color=008000]And, since our time spent in Otome Port was largely doing manual labor and construction, we've decided to make this place less of a dreary refugee camp and more of a place to live and raise hope and family for a brighter tomorrow,[/color]" Ripcord says, "[color=008000]Starting with a proper dining hall made from brick and mortar.[/color]"

"[color=E97451]That said, it will take time for Papi and I ages to do this alone, so will you put your trust in us and lend us your aid, as we aim to lend you ours,[/color]" Umami asks.

"[color=008000]As Mami asks, so do I,[/color]" Ripcord says, genuflecting before the gathering refugees, "[color=008000]We will bear no grudge, if you refuse, but our intentions will always remain as given.[/color]"

Umami genuflected, as well, and waited for the final verdict from those they sought, if nothing else, coexistence.[/hider]