Mars's eyebrows furrowed together in a look of concern. "It would be unlike Nevra to let a newcomer fall that far into trouble," she thought aloud. She stepped toward the couch, stretched her arms once, and plopped down. "He might be slow to adjust but even with shinigami who are out of their element here―we find a place for 'em to fit in, you know?" She turned toward Lea. "It's kind of private until the last minute―if it goes public at all―but people who get in trouble have usually refused a lot of help from Nevra. She's decisive and ambitious so she seems scary all the time but she thinks of us as family and looking out for us all is her top priority."

Mars yawned into a sigh. "Mmm...There are a lot of ways for someone to fit in with us. I used to do more administrative work with new shinigami―before I sharpened my knife to do field work like this―so I've seen countless..." She yawned again and closed her eyes to recount the tale. "Countless shinigami...that take a long time to...adjust...or need to change...assignments...a thousand...times..."

With the sun yet set and her scythe sharp-side sideways on the floor, Mars in her street clothes fell fast asleep.


"Good!" Anders cheered. He poured hot water over the tea leaves and shook the metal around in the water to force a faster steep. He unclasped the tool and tossed the damp leaves in the waste bin. He spun on one heel and extended his arm so as to counter the movement and avoid spilling his tea. "I'm sure he'll be delighted to get you into missions." Anders sat down in the third nearby chair and took a sip from his steaming cup.

Silas closed his eyes. His chair faced away from the window in the lounge and the sun had started to shine in for the evening.

"Silas, how was Melia's district today?"

Silas opened his eyes to Arael and then turned to the sound of Anders's voice. "I didn't realize the districts were so unique. Even the landing protocol is different."

Anders laughed. "You'll get the hang of it." Silas frowned, and Anders caught himself. "Ah, Silas. I didn't mean to have you completely replace Melia. I wanted you to get to know her district better so that you might be able to mentor her, among others."

"I don't understand how today would help me mentor her."

"No, you're certainly not going to mentor her yet," Anders agreed. "Today was an opportunity for you to learn the in's and out's of her assignments. Even an emergency backup call would have worked in your favor so that you would learn and demonstrate experience in her jurisdiction―"

"All of this just makes me tired," Silas half-snapped as he leaned forward and pressed his palms into his eyelids to rub the sleep away. "I don't even remember what I had for breakfast." He moved his hand toward the stray strands of dark hair that had fallen forward and tugged them away from his eyes.

"You look like you could use a nap," Anders retorted. He paused for a moment to collect himself and then turned toward Arael. "You must have worked hard, too, to get your wings unsealed. Perhaps both of you could use a refreshing rest?"

( OOC: Which person should bring up time-travel? I won't kick Silas out of the lounge if that's where we want to bring it up but if it's better for Silas/Arael to conspire after Anders leaves―or sends them away―then we could do that too. )