Aster Kang

closed starter for @aster-kang​

In a small town like Port Vale, the library had more than one use. Not only did it house books, but also all the town archives. Or at least the public ones. Karina had already checked out most of the books she thought would be useful, concerning the history of the town. But today she was looking for something a little more specific. 

Henry guided her up the front steps, and into the building, Karina remembering where the front desk was, making their way over. “Oh hi.” She smiled at noticing someone behind the desk. “I was wondering if you would be able to help me find some articles written about the Castle of the Isle?” 

Aster heard the familiar pitter-patter of nails clinking on the tiled floor before she saw the pair of them. She smiled as Karina approached the front desk, standing up to greet her, only glancing at the dog to smile at him before giving her full attention to the blonde. “It’s nice to see you again! I’d be happy to help. Did you want the latest ones over the past five years, or would you like me to find as much as I can for now?” She asked, already typing out keywords on their database. 

She much preferred Karina over some of the other tenants here. The woman gave her an ample amount of work to do that she didn’t bore herself to death, but she wasn’t fussy or impatient either. 

“Oh thanks, I’d really appreciate that. I get all turned around trying to find anywhere.” Piper smiled back. “I’m Piper, it’s nice to meet you Aster.”

“Likewise,” she said with a warm smile. “Have you ever been here?”

The best part about any good party - and Victoria could call this any fancy names, it was a party -, was the dancing. And Steph loved dancing. She drank the last of the bubbly cocktail so was slowly sipping when a good song started playing and turned towards the first person she could find. “Wanna come dance with me?”

When Aster had heard through the grapevine about the Anand’s daughter, she had been expecting her to look more... daunting. Something along the lines of Victoria Wolfgang, per se. This woman was small and rather adorable. She smirked as she walked over to her on the dance floor, already prepared to have a great time, tonight. “I’d love to,” she said with a grin as she pulled her closer by the waist.

time: Feb 14, evening

status: closed for @isidoredelgado

Aster was definitely running late for her Valentine’s day blind date. She had been getting ready when Caspian jumped into the trash can and ate a few spoiled leftovers, causing him to throw up in the same trash can and all over himself. He was not happy to be dragged into the shower with her and given a bath. He wailed and hissed, protesting almost to the very end before he simply accepted his fate. The poor thing looked like a wet rat, thoroughly defluffed by the water, and Aster couldn’t help but chuckle at how upset he looked about it. She towel-dried him and finished off the job with her hairdryer, chuckling as he swatted at it when it got too close to his face.  

 Aster quite enjoyed getting to know new people around town, and figured a blind date might be the best opportunity to get to know someone new. Granted, there weren’t a lot of eligible single people in town on top of the very small population, but she figured there was still the off chance she would meet with someone she didn’t know. She contemplated canceling her date, but she had no idea who she could call to let them know she couldn’t make it. Caspian was looking better, albeit probably feeling a bit betrayed with the bath, so she figured she’d just have to excuse herself early to check on him later. She shot a quick text to Isidore to check on him later if he was free, and let her neighbor know to do the same before leaving for her date. 

xx

      Though not entirely sure what she expected, exactly, Ridley couldn’t help but twitch her lips in a surprised smile at Aster’s nonchalance. Sure, she was probably used to being the topic of chatter, but even so… if it were Ridley, she’d be dying to know what everyone said. At all times, captain or not. Aster just didn’t seem to care - and the confidence was staggering. “You don’t even want to know, like, what they say?” She pressed, head cocking sideways as she studied the Caspian captain. For a moment, the cold didn’t bite as hard; she was too busy trying to figure out what it was that set Aster so apart- so regal, in her own right. Ridley marveled. “Goddess, if it were me, wow, I’d be chasing talk all day long. Huh. ‘Guess that’s why they don’t just make me captain, right?” She giggled, good-naturedly. Poking jokes at herself was fine, but Ridley would always get defensive if others did. Sometimes she thought she made the jokes just to do it first; maybe convince others they didn’t need too. Ridley already knew her short-comings, and she didn’t care. 

    “Well, it’s a plan as good as any,” She shrugged, willing. The end of her shift was fast approaching, though, Ridley noted with great relief. It had been nice to sit and chat with Aster - and finally, she decided with the minutes ticking by, to finally ask the question she’d been withholding. “Um, so, how is Nereida doing? Like, is she… I mean, I know she says she’s fine, but, do you believe her?” When Ridley looked at Aster, there was real concern flooding her irises. Most things, the siren waved off with ease and a laugh, but this - you could tell, it was weighing on her. 

   Loyalty and dedication in her tone, as she added. “You know how tough it’s been with… with everything. I just want to make sure, like, she’s really going to be alright. She trusts you, so, I thought maybe if she wasn’t… you’d know.” 

“Not particularly, but it seems you’re a little too eager to get it off your chest, so let’s hear it then,” she said with an amused smile. Aster didn’t really see the appeal in speculating about people in private, coming up with all sorts of theories as to why people are the way they are. She found that there were more pressing matters to talk about than people’s fashion choices or their motives. She just assumed that everyone always had an ulterior motive as she did, and it ironically made her feel more secured. If you didn’t trust anyone, no one could actually break your trust. The worst possible outcome would be that she’d be disappointed, but certainly not surprised. It was rare that anyone seemed to catch her off-guard at this point. She supposed it came with years of talking with high-ranking officials and refugees of war. 

“It’s not 100% effective, but it usually gets you signatures. It doesn’t matter if some of them go back on their word. Most of them would be guilty enough to take part, anyway. That’s the thing about living in a small town; people talk since there’s not much going on here to begin with,” she said leaning back in her seat and sipping her coffee. “Sometimes you have to work with the resources you’ve got.” She glanced at Ridley and smiled at her. “She’s been having trouble sleeping lately, so I offered that she stay in my apartment for the time being to get some adequate rest. She’s been sleeping fairly well as of late, to my knowledge,” she said. “If she wants to share what might be bothering her, I’m all ears, but I don’t think she wants to.”

Port Vale Citizens as Ryan Reynolds Tweets

ヘ(´－｀;)ヘ

Her teasing remark had him snorting, but not giving her a direct answer. There they were, constantly toeing the line between something and something else. It was just the way they were, for as long as he could remember. But it was strange, how they had never gotten further than that, sly remarks and long stares shared between them. There was so much stopping them, responsibilities on their shoulders that made their feet too heavy to move any further.

To sum it up, they were… complicated. A complex system made up of two beings overlapping but never touching. But being with her was always fun, a moment of levity even when he was downtrodden and miserable. That’s why he always came back, because she was something constant to him when everything else was not. A steady beacon. He hated making her do this for him, since that’s what she was for everything else, but he couldn’t help himself. They leaned on each other, that’s the way they worked.

And yet, he found himself thinking she could do a lot better than him. As a comrade, as a friend, everything else. She still had that same smile as she did all those years ago, that fire in her eyes. Meanwhile he was getting lost in the water, head barely breaching the surface at times. A mess, basically. He mulled over this quietly, blinking at her as he did.

He found himself snorting again. He knew. He and Isidore were the same, at the end of the day, though they reacted very differently to things. At lease Isidore came to others for help. “I’ll look the same, wrinkles or not.” He waved her remark away. He had been alive for longer than he could even remember, the date of his birth and everything else lost to him over the many years. He wondered when he started staying the same, the set of his eyes and everything else ceased to change.

“One drink.” He agreed, leaning into the touch, head resting against hers with a wry smile. His hand went to her back, squeezing her shoulder. The angle was awkward, but it worked. “Any more and you’re going to be dragging me out of here by my feet.”

Minsun and Isidore were no different in that their dwindling population on top of the previous war had made them flee to land in fear. To this day, she still didn’t understand what had caused the mass disappearance of the species when the lot of them had basically ruled the waters before the mermaids came along. She had heard stories of the great hippocampi who declared their loyalty when the Goddess had made the mermaids. It had been so easy for them to relinquish their power. If it had been up to her, she would have fought for her birthright to rule. 

Like Gabi had said, it was a curse in and of itself to live that long. Maybe their time on earth had made them grow weary. Where Aster had thrived to claim the Caspian as her own, Minsun had watched her from the bylines, always calculating, never crossing that unspoken boundary between them. There had been a time when he still possessed a spark in his eyes; where he would return her witty banter with ease. She wasn’t one to pry, but she always wondered what had happened to him that caused him to change so much. 

“That’s true. You seemed to have aged pretty well for an ancient grandpa of the sea. As a teenager once said to me, I’m going to need a thorough list of your skincare routine, my dear. You don’t look a day over 300,” she teased with laugh, peering up at him from under his chin. “There you go again with that look in your eyes. What to they say in these situations again? Ah! A penny for your thoughts? It seems I’ve lost you in the void, there,” she teased, pulling herself off him to get a better look. 

how sign traits manifest, when energies are focused outward vs. inward

                                                   TAURUS

outward: stubborn, hardworking, super cute, patient, very committed and focused to whatever they’re doing at the moment, great listeners

-

Isla let Aster lead her to the shore, trusting her to know how to care for herself on land more than she did. It wasn’t Isla first time on land, but it was her first time in Port Vale, which she could already tell was very different from any other place she had been to before. “The current is cold, but the weather on the surrounding land is usually very warm,” she informed her as she hesitantly stuck her foot back in the water to clean off the sand, hissing from the frigid temperature. It felt much different in this body as it did in her true form. “This is most definitely the coldest place I’ve ever been,” she added though she could barely be heard over the sound of her teeth chattering.

Once her feet were clean, she slid the flip flops back on and turned to Aster, nodding in agreement. “I think I’ll keep the vest for a more appropriate time, but I agree. In that case, I’m ready to go when you are,” she said as she gestured towards the town. 

“That’s true. The breeze by the shore is also a lot cooler than that in town. It’s both from the buildings blocking the breeze as well as the fact that there is less trees and and open space there,” she said watching as she princess slowly stepped into the water, all too familiar with the feeling of salt water on her wounds. “Really? I would think you’ve been to the Caribbean or the other northern territories a few times,” she mused, pulling the wrap tighter around her as she shivered. “Alright, I just have to get my things, but we should be able to leave in a few minutes.”

“Cool beans - Irish coffee it is,” Mike agreed good-naturedly, setting about getting the drink ready as they chatted. “Gotcha, yeah - I can ask around and keep an ear out,” he assured her. “I’m sure there’s gotta be somethin’ around, just a matter of askin’ the right folks. Ya got any particular line of work you’re lookin’ for?” His best guess was that she would like something that wouldn’t require too many human qualifications and could be picked up on relatively quickly, but who knew? Maybe she’d come to land sometime in the past and had picked up a job choice, like him. 

She didn’t really know what the Irish people were like, but she appreciated that they thought to mix her two of her favorite human drinks together. Of course, she wasn’t aware that mixing a depressant and an upper probably wasn’t the best idea. Then again, there was always a first time for everything. She wasn’t one to worry about trying anything at least once. “Thank you, I really appreciate it. Should I leave my phone number so you can contact me easily?” She asked, still not sure how phones really work or if that was an appropriate thing to ask. “Well, I kind of want to work at the library, if that’s possible. I’m not very good at reading though, but I’m very much willing to learn.”

Gemma nodded, crestfallen - they were in a fishing town now, but she allegedly wasn’t from one herself. She didn’t want to be seen buying or eating anything that would be strange for the background she’d given herself, so she would just have to avoid seaweed for now. It probably tasted odd dried out anyway. She paid close attention to the items placed into her bag, grabbing a few similar-looking items that piqued her interest along the way. It wasn’t long until her bag was full - thanks to Aster’s help, this whole ‘grocery shopping’ task had been shorter and much closer to painless than she’d anticipated. “This was a great help - thank you. If I come across any helpful information about living here, I’ll be sure to let you know. I do hope that we can continue to be of aid to each other, while we are here.”

Aster wasn’t probably as well versed to the different backgrounds humans could have, but she figured it couldn’t be as different as coming from different waters in the world. Only, sirens were faster when it came to traveling from one boundary to other than humans were, so it was easier to exchange resources, news and customs. Then again, humans made up for this with their vehicles and social media. She smiled at Gemma as they managed to give her a good supply that would probably last her a good week or two if she was smart with rationing them. “It’s my pleasure. Likewise. If you happen to need any help at all, you can call me anytime. I work at the library, so if you ever need something from there as well, please let me know. I’ll go ahead, then. I still have a cat to get home to.”

-

“Well, I really try my best to bring some excitement to those around me,” Ronan agreed. He and dull times really didn’t go well together. “And I really appreciate the gesture and will make sure to continue bringing all the chaos possible to your life.” He bopped her on the nose as an extra way to convey his point. “Now, let’s make a big mess!”

That said, he turned to get ready, thanking her for the help. Truth be told, the way they both looked after putting those things on made it questionable if he should be thanking her for it or not. Somehow, that made things better.

“We both look dumb” he said, decidedly, after her retort. Then, he laughed when she continued teasing. “Aye, aye, captain. I make sure to thank the goddess every night for blessing me with such an amazing friend” he said, watching her pick her weapon of choice and start their little art project. “Oh, pink! My favorite color. Great start.”

On his turn, he picked two darts instead of only one. “Let’s make things more fun,” he explained. Taking aim with both hands at the same time probably wouldn’t work out very well, but, since they were still starting, he would have a higher chance of hitting two balloons, right? Wrong. He somehow managed to miss both darts, but at least they both hit the canvas. He just laughed at himself. “That didn’t go at all as I planned.”

“I think it’s one of your many great skills,” she said with a warm smile as she nudged him affectionately. She was genuinely glad to spend some time with him. He found a way to make her forget about all her problems and just enjoy the time she was given, and she really appreciated that on occasion. “Well, I wouldn’t want to make a habit of it, but once in a while shouldn’t hurt.”

They kind of looked like those alien suit creatures in that phone game she saw a few teenagers playing at the library, once. They caused quite a ruckus in the play area as they tapped away on their phones and accused each other of being “sus” or something. They had been nice enough to explain to her how the game worked and even let her play one round, although she got killed as easily as she had started. 

She softened at that and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug, feeling a bit warm either from his words or the suit that she was wearing. Maybe it was both. “I’m really glad I met you,” she said genuinely. Ronan was one of the few people where she didn’t have to guard her emotions all the time. Of course, she was still careful with her plans sometimes, seeing as she still wasn’t entirely sure where his loyalties lied, but generally speaking, she trusted him enough. 

She snorted and laughed out loud as missed his targets both times, walking over the mural to pull out her dart as well as his from the canvas. “Here, you can try again,” she said encouragingly as she tried his technique and threw two darts with both hands, smiling as one of them hit a target and a spray of green fell over the canvas while the other dart missed. “I think my right hand might not be the most dextrous.”

®

“That does sound exciting when you put it that way,”  Renzie replied, but it was hard to explain to others that he didn’t want adventures.  He’d packed away his adventursome hopes decades ago, and to unpack them now would just be…so very painful.  No.  It was easier for Renzie Anand live predictable, plain, and adventure-free. Let the Stephs and Asters of the world seek out adventures.  

Granted, he was technically here looking for insight into selkies and other sea people, suspecting that Aster herself was some kind of seaple, because kismet brought adventure to him.  Whether Renzie wanted it or not.

“Some people can be water-persons…”  Renzie said, amused by Aster taking it in stride.  It usually felt awful, pretending and lying.  But sea people had to be good at lying because they had no choice.  What sort of life was that?  “Like um…a preference for hot water versus cold?  Lemon-water, carbonated water…endless possibilities.”

This conversation was so stupid.  Renzie felt so stupid that he was able to carry on these stupid, trite, pointless chit-chat conversations with such effortless ease.  His whole life, and he’d only bothered to delve deep with his family, and with a stupid ex who almost broke his heart.  I know sea people are real!!!! he wanted to scream.  It was maddening, and Renzie kept smiling.

“Do you have any…pictures of your art?  If you’re willing to share.  I’d love to see.  I might be as talented as a mule, but I think art is amazing.”

At least art didn’t lie.  It was a statement, an indelible honesty even if it got clever or deep.  Renzie listened as Aster talked about her own life (or her own lies?), so plain and unadorned it would be so easy to believe her.  Old!Renzie would’ve swallowed it all, hook, line, and sinker.  Would’ve been compassionate for her supposed struggle (he was sure Aster had struggles, but perhaps not human struggles.  Sea people struggles), called her strong and brave and all the other banal crap an actual refugee might be sick and tired of hearing from well-meaning, privileged fools.

‘We both found each other when we needed each other the most.’

There was a profound sadness laced into that statement that made Renzie’s shoulders slump.   Maybe Renzie was just projecting; but regardless, his smile turned softer and more genuine.  “So what you’re saying is that Nereida is a big old sweet softie underneath her hard shell.  It’s good you two found each other then. Putting up a shell all the time - feeling defensive all the time - it can get so exhausting.  And lonely.”

Renzie pointed at a journal entry from an old dockmaster’s records from the late 1700s.  “Oh-ho!  Look here.  A smuggler’s gaff-rigged wherry, which claimed to have something in their wet cargo.  Not a fish, but not a shark or whale.  It…” Renzie skimmed along his finger, trying to decipher the handwriting and the olde tyme nomenclature.  “…okay here we go.  It claims the creature sang to them on a moonlit night, before jumping ship.  But they retained scales, scraped off her tail as she crawled along the deck.  That’s….actually that’s really disturbing.  Hm.  I wonder what happened to the scales?  Maybe the dockmaster confiscated them…”

“Right? Sometimes it’s better to think of a tedious task as a small quest you have to figure out before you can work on the more fun things. That’s how I like to think about some of the chores I have to do but don’t want to do, you know?” She said. It was a lot similar to some of the adventure books she had read, and she found that she could get a lot of things done faster when she thought of herself as an adventurer on a quest. It made things a lot more fun than they appeared. 

Leave it to the Anands to take that ideology one step further and make it their lives’ mission to  scour the town for merfolk. She never understood what it was with this town and its obsession with mermaids, but she knew she had to watch her words carefully around him. He seemed to have a knack for twisting her words, probably hoping he’d catch her in her lies. Well, she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction if she could help it.

She raised as eyebrow at him as she pondered the thought. “Well, if you put it that way, I could argue that all drinks contain some form of water. Coffee is merely bean-infused water while lemonade is lemon-flavored water,” she said with a chuckle, wondering how long he’d try to hold this absurd small talk. “But that’s an interesting point, I suppose. I would prefer my water hot or carbonated, I think.”

She definitely had to commend him for plastering on a smile throughout their whole nonsensical conversation. He was either an idle chatterbox who enjoyed menial conversations, or he was baiting her somehow. She didn’t really understand what angle he was going for, but she found that she was quite enjoying their little conversation. 

“I have a few little scribbles and drawings at the front desk. As for my paintings, they’re at home. I’m afraid I’m quite embarrassed by some of my paintings, so I can’t show them to you, sadly,” she said with a laugh. “I can show you some of my sketches, though, once we finish up here,” she offered before she focused her attention on one of the journals. 

“Yeah,” she said with a soft, fond laugh. “If you say it like that, it does sound a little silly. But we all have our pasts, and our experiences make us who we are,” she said with a shrug. “We were lucky enough to be taken in and taught English in order to work here. I can say with certainty that I’m really lucky to be here,” she said dreamily. 

She looked up from the diary she was reading to glance at the one Renzie was holding. “Whoa, that is so cool! Look at this one,” she said, holding up the journal in front of him. “I think I might be going mad, but I hear it every night without fail. The storm has caused my ship to drift far off into the ocean, with no land in sight. Our resources are being rationed, and it’s all we can do not to jump ship. My crewmates and I sing shanties at night to help boost morale, but sometimes we hear an eery voice, too high-pitched to be any one of us. It’s beautiful and haunting, and joins us in song every other night. It doesn’t sound like any creature I’ve heard before,” she read aloud. “Do you think this might be a mermaid experience?”

location: The Lobster Haven

time: dinner

Aster found it absurd that she had to pay quite a bit of money to enjoy cooked seafood when she used to have an abundance of these creatures for free in her waters. Albeit, there had been times when the resources were scarce what with humans taking more than they needed. Nevertheless, even for a fishing town, this was a bit too much. It was a good thing the food was good, otherwise she wouldn’t come here every once in a while. She hated to admit it, but these humans had a way of making shrimp, the cockroaches of the sea, taste delicious. After she had ordered her meal, she crossed her fingers together and rested her chin on them, regarding Cyrena calmly. 

“As I was saying, I understand where Gemma may be coming from. We both came from tough backgrounds where we had to fight our way to survive. While some become better risk takers from this experience, others would become more cautious. I can’t really say she’s doing anything wrong seeing as her sea is thriving and her sirens are recovering from the sickness. Call it what you may, luck or fate, she seems to be doing a great job regardless. Just because someone doesn’t agree with your methods doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be heard out,” she said, taking a sip of her water. “Anyway, how have you been?”

-

“Sure do. Well…” he feigned checking in his sleeve, never one to shy away from a dad joke. “Maybe not up my sleeve, but I got a few ideas. Ever had an Irish coffee? It’s mostly whiskey and coffee - I can do a decaf one, if you wanna try it but don’t wanna mix alcohol and caffeine. Some folks say puttin’ those two together is a no-go,” he explained. Considering that she’d compared the first drink to coffee and seemed to enjoy it, he figured she might like one that actually had coffee in it. If she was new to land though, he figured she might not be up to date on the caffeine-plus-alcohol discourse. Asked for tips for a newcomer getting settled in, he considered the matter. “Hmm, well - honestly? Once you’ve got the essentials covered, just talkin’ to folks’s probably the fastest way to get settled in. People warm up to folks they see around more, so - probably just not holing yourself up in your place and talkin’ to different sorts of folks, y’know? Seems like ya probably handle on that already though, huh?” He considered the matter a little further. “You do have all the basics, yeah? Place to live and a job and all that? If ya need help with either - I can do some askin’ around, if ya like.”

Aster blinked at him, initially confused as to what he was doing, so she couldn’t help but look into his sleeves to see if something was on it before laughing and feeling like an idiot. “I quite like coffee and alcohol, and I’ve never tried them together, so I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you put them together. It should be an interesting experience,” she said with a smile, resting her chin on her hand as she regarded him curiously. He was one of the oddest humans she had met thus far, which wasn’t saying much since she recently just got here. “I’m currently staying at the Mermaid Inn for now until I can find a place for myself. I suppose the first thing I need to do is look for a job and get to know the locals, then,” she decided. “Oh, could you? That would be really helpful.”

.

“Hippocampi have their own quirks. They aren’t the same as us. It can be a curse all on its own to live that long.” This was something that Gabi had thought about numerous times. While just a little longer of a life could be useful when it came to attaining power and position, not everyone would live that long. Losing people that she cared about was the worst thing that she could imagine. Hippocampi were ridiculous in their own ways, but she didn’t envy them for the types of loss they had to have experienced. “Don’t chance fate. Even if there is a chance that the rules don’t work quite as we expect them to, it’s not worth testing. Please, try not to think about this for much longer. It will only hurt. Atla’s necklace isn’t on display now, though. That was before. It disappeared, then Siobhan had it, and then I don’t know where it went after. None of us do.” She’d seen the necklace for herself, even. That ridiculous piece of jewelry had too much danger attached to it.

Gabi didn’t know what ‘Totally Spies’ was, but it had to be important if Aster was citing this film. In all likelihood, it wasn’t a musical, so she wouldn’t care enough to watch it unless she was given an explicit recommendation. “Hmm. It’s not open all of the time. I’m not sure how many defenses the establishment has, but we could make an attempt to ask about that casually. Figure out what the vulnerabilities based on that because it might not even be safest to install when it’s closed. The owner seems… very human, so he may answer our questions.” She didn’t really know how to describe Theo otherwise based on observation. Just a human.

Aster pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows in a show of mirroring her sentiments. “Fair enough,” she mused. She never found out what caused the mass extinction of such a strong species that once ruled the waters way before the goddess had brought in the mermaids. If she didn’t know better, hippocampi were basically similar to the titans in Greek mythology who were forcibly made to step down for the Olympians, which to her was rather unfair given that the hippocampi didn’t even put up much of a fight, or at least that was what her ancestors had told her. “It is so like the North Atlantic to be so careless as to lose Atla’s pendant. Their security detail was laughable at best, and I wasn’t surprised about what happened to the princess. I am curious as to why a reincarnation hasn’t taken her place, yet. Mellora has been a place holder for so long. It makes one wonder if her pendant had been taken when she had been murdered,” she said, voicing her thoughts out loud. Of course, this was already considered a shared speculation between her and her sea. 

“I suggest you make up a story as to why you may be asking so as not to raise suspicion. It could be something simple like asking if they already have set cameras in place because you had previously lost your jewelry there, and you wanted to see if anyone had taken it. Another excuse would be that cameras would help you feel safe as there are a lot of questionable people in town recently, and some of them had been harassing you at the bar or something,” she suggested. She wasn’t one to leave anything to chance, and if the other humans were anything like the Anands, she was sure they may be secretly wary of them already.