THE SOUL REMAINS.

How could anyone from outside his own world manipulate the powers of a Herrscher, made as a weapon against humanity itself?

She seemed proud of her chair, and so he smiled back at her, "It seems quite well-made, in addition to being custom. It suits you." But when she asks about his being new - or at least freshly moved, he can't help but be a little struck.

"Ah, things tend to change a bit when there's new residents. The weather and the sky, so I tend to keep my eyes out for new people..."

Her companion seems ill at ease, so she does her best, quietly keeping as best an aura of tenderness as she can. Maybe she's overstepping in her observations, but she can't help it: it's just part of her curiosity, rearing up as it always does once again.

Rachel's hands shift in position as she speaks, her posture moving to a relaxed one; one hand up in a vague wave outward as she speaks.

"People come and go quickly and often, so I quite like trying to see who arrives. Even if I miss departures..."

And he hadn't been stopped enough for that reason!

She reaches her hand towards the dog: the cold, wet nose of the animal brushes her fingers, her eyes locked on the rounded-triangle ears and thick fur. How luxurious, how sweet, this simple pleasure felt -- if only animals had managed to survive further past the Devouring than they had.

"Many things happened in my environment...the years built up with so much trouble for everyone, including environmental decay. There's an abject lack of quite a lot of things, from crops to animals, unfortunately. I believe there was a report of a dog of some type near the Far East branch of the Fenrir organization, somewhat near where I lived, but that was a two year old report when it reached me."

So she carefully explains, her smile ever-unwavering, trying to make things as easy for the other to understand as she can -- there's things many people may not know here, and she never has an idea who could grasp something such as the Devouring from a mere conceptual standpoint.

warm drink and snack much the same as he's always known, yet the uncertainty of this island remained at the back of oliver's mind. lingering and tainting the appeal such simple delicacies once offered. anxiety was doing him one favor, he supposed. saving his wallet.

"well, i suppose i would be in need of something to hold me over. i had not anticipated being... here... though." or being in need of a replacement for his previous work. anxious hesitation could not keep his savings safe forever, unfortunately. the yearning for a little treat, plus expenses for living, would catch up to him sooner or later.

"I did a little bit of everything, if I'm being honest. Orphanage management, anti-Aragami tech r&d, neuroscience studies, some engineering, and helping manage the Friar mobile base and BLOOD Unit..."

Her smile doesn't waver as she counts the items off on her hands: like a painted saint, unblinking (unnerving) gesturing with digits to the sky. But she almost prefers the cafe, if she's honest. Quieter, gentler, doesn't have the looming threat of someone not returning home...while she misses Julius and Leah quite dearly, she can handle this reprieve from her day-to-day if it meant she could be less pigeonholed into a position of importance 24/7.

This place doesn't have a devouring apocalypse, or the Red Rain, or sudden permanent illnesses. There's occasional oddities, but they're far less frightening than what she'd come to see as normal.

"I believe my time might have been considered a future by many who live here...the last time I checked the year, it was 2074. Not a particularly happy year for many, and certainly an environment which had people holding quite a lot of uncommon jobs just to get by."

There are no God Eaters here, just as there are no Aragami. There's no need for them; and as such, there's no need for her to do anything but just be, here.

Someone like Hyuna moved with a grace on most days that belied her missing leg — and even still, to Till, her surviving such an injury was something of a miracle all on its own.

Should he help? Is that demeaning? It’s not like there isn’t someone (a friend?) close by. Till stares at the ground, afraid to even look too much at her in case that’s some sort of offense as well.

"Oh, thank you. I don't need to catch any more scars to my face!"

He's nervous, in a way that reminds her of the children just seeing her other usual mode of mobility for the first time (but, he's too big to be pulled into a lap for reassurance that she's just fine). So, her method of disarming the situation is to make a jab at her own expense, a note to the marking from her unfortunate clattering down many more stairs than a small child at the time should've ever taken.

"Would you like to take a walk with us? Nazeneen knows the area here well, but I don't think we'd be unhappy for company."

Even if the expression on her face surrounded by blonde hair unnerved him a tad. Not her being blonde, but in combination with how she appeared to be viewing the world around her...

Well, he shouldn't make assumptions. Dan Heng has plenty of trouble emoting, so.

"It's a warm summer night, so I can't say it's too terrible to talk to a new neighbor."

"Thank you. It's custom made, and...somehow, was able to travel from home with me. I've come not to question it so much."

She'd have been completely lost without it, after all: the worn, green crushed velvet of the cushioning has its spots where it's faded down, flattened to the base texture from her usual position. The footrest bears marks from her shoes, hands having smoothed bits of the armrests and interfaces clean off. The chair knows her like she knows herself, intricately and intimately, close and careful and netted up together.

People-watching, especially in the district she'd been housed in, had become part of Rachel's nightly routine; usually the neighbors glossed over her, but she doesn't mind having someone speak to her instead. There's a bit of a drop-off just ahead of here, so people are viewed at a slope into the distance, something ever-pleasant to see.