“ OOO-KAY @goldcerts, just what are you reading that's had me talking to myself for five whole minutes? hmm? don't be shy now, let's share with the class! ”

"Yeah, it does that." Quite nonchalant in her reply, it slips out before she even needs to think about it or even look at the shattered ring, no doubt very used by now to people being caught by surprise at such a sight. Really, of all the ways the originium's memories could've picked to grant her the sword's original power... She huffs, glances around, listens closer, and finds nothing of concern— guess it felt like fishing for attention today. ( heh, fishing. ) "It's my arts unit. No, I don't know why it reacts either, yes sometimes it just feels like doing that. Think of it like a pet of sorts and don't worry about it." The trained response of someone that's been questioned one too many times over the same topic, and yet Laevatain holds onto her patience, just as aware of how uncommon of a sight this is for anyone that hasn't been around her for long enough.

[ text ] Nailed a big fin for the day. Not bad to put up in the fin stall for the evening crowd, huh!

...

An incoming text a few minutes later pops up.

[ text ] Ah, shoot. Wrong convo. Sorry, Laev! I think you and the Endministrator are text door neighbors. 😳

Laevatain, frankly, hadn't thought much about the other operators, let alone talked to many of them in the first place. Surtr had always been on the aloof side, others approaching her before she herself did, pulling her from her own thoughts and into her home, and it seems Laevatain has inherited this trait from her other self— more often than not pulled into conversation and antics by others around her, content with following along. Never mind the fact that said following along tended to include something being set ablaze more often than not, that had no bearing whatsoever in her decisions.

That is to say, sudden messages out of the blue aren't all that uncommon, be it for an assignment or someone marveling at her flames, they don't surprise her. The unsolicited fin pic, however, raises an eyebrow, brow scrunched up and mind trying to figure out what this has to do with her, exactly. She's only talked to the guy once or twice as far as her memories tell her, so...?

... Ah, a misclick. Shame, she thought the odd message would be something a little more interesting.

[ text ] And here I thought I was going to be asked to burn some fins. [ text ] Are my flames not good enough to cook with? They would be a novelty for whoever stops by that stall, at least.

there's, initially, no verbal reply from the liberi as the blanket is wrapped around her shoulders — it's like the warm material flips a switch inside of her brain, releasing some of the day's tension that's settled in her shoulders. wings flutter &&. relax upon her head as she lets out a soft sigh, placing her pen down &&. settling her palm against her forehead instead. it's true that not a second has been wasted since waking up early in the morning; no, there's too much to be done &&. little time to do it. deadlines &&. testing &&. expectations that make a scrambled list inside of her head — she's mastered the art of looking composed on the outside, but inside? sometimes, the office that is perlica's brain is on fire. ... of course, once said brain finally realizes what's going on ( &&. catches the tail end of alesh's words, ) she stiffens right back up with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Oh, this?" Volkner seems, admittedly, just a little too unconcerned with what's currently going on in the engineering department. The contraption of wires and coils sitting on the working table is certainly a sight, perhaps only a little more concerning once realizing there's a poor sap from their department willingly strapping themselves to it. Maybe engineering is starting to compete with medical for who has the most freaks under contract?

"Someone came up with the idea of trying to convert excess energy generated by some of our arts into actually usable energy— y'know, since we have some people on board with electricity-oriented arts and stuff that could use some help redirecting that stuff." And then he nonchalantly gestures to... everything that's happening, currently. A sight to behold, or something, depending on how this goes. "Guess this is their first prototype ready to try? Haven't really been paying too much attention, some of us still got other work to do to justify our budget." It's a wonder they all get enough work done to keep the landship running, honestly.

This little creature appears to gaze up at the feline, before taking in the luscious blond fur of his tail that dangles close to the ground, attempting to gauge where in the world the actual tail even is. And then... it hops, biting like a fish to a hook, and hanging on for dear life. Surely, it didn't hurt as much as it looks, right?

Unfortunately, silly day or not, workdays were workdays, and that means that a silly day falling in the middle of the week was still a day to be worked, even at a lenient company like Rhodes Island. Well, at least they should still be able to laze around a bit and fit in a project for funsies in the busy engineering department's schedule, right? Or so he hopes. Regardless, he won't get anywhere by grumbling and sighing all day, so work it is, as much as his brain allows him to focus, anyways.

Volkner does manage to get into a routine of sorts for the day, at least, busy enough with his tinkering to be completely absorbed into his work and oblivious to whatever the other engineers around him may or may not be up to— which may or may not be not so good of a thing, actually, completely oblivious to the little creature made of stone approaching on a mission. And he still doesn't realize anything is amiss, not until he feels pressure on his tail, yelping even when it's not quite hurting, dropping his tools on the work table and spinning around in his chair. Volkner blinks, staring at the... construct, of sorts, at his feet, tail still held in its mouth. He doesn't stop staring at it as he leans down to grab his own tail and carefully pull it back, only for the rock creature to not let go, leaning in to keep its grip. A few more tries are equally unsuccessful, and Volkner can only stare in growing distress.

The damned thing is not letting go of his tail.

( where did it even come from?! clearly this thing must be someone's arts at work, but who would... wait. )

Finally, the feline stands up, just a little unsure. Almost hesitantly, he takes a step, keeping an eye on the construct, only a crumb of relief when seeing it follow, still holding onto his tail, but at least not making an effort to rip it off. Yet. And that starts the awkward walk through the landship's halls, only occasionally stopping to turn around and see whether or not the creature has decided to leave, only to still be patiently following, much to his dismay. Eventually, Volkner arrives to his destination, not even bothering to knock, opening the door to find the gator he was after and hurrying inside to let it fall shut behind him.