Well it's my very little wonder and it's one that I will keep

[lesstravelled]

Something was going on.

Something was always going on. The world was a big and bustling place full of the small evils people committed against each other. Road enjoyed that about life. Anywhere you went you'd find people being people everywhere, and it never mattered if those people were tall or short or old or young or lizards or dogs or boring old humes. People transcended the species barrier, and people were awful. Terrible.

Fun.

Sometimes there were the larger evils people committed against each other too, and Road was part of more than one of those. They were Noah. Clandestine, dangerous, remorseless. They had their spoons in more than one pot of evil and gave them a stir occasionally to make sure the nastiness didn't just sink to the bottom and stay there.

They didn't concern themselves with the lowerworld much. Road, and Tyki, and the others, had been busily stirring another pot on Jylland, their usual playground, when the summons had come from Khamja on the lowerworld. They'd had some work from them, in the past, but their relationship with Khamja was normally distant. The Earl had maintained the connection, because connections were good, and maybe once they were done playing on Jylland it'd be fun to find a new place to play, but when the summons had come, he hadn't been able to attend himself.

He'd sent Road in his stead, and Tyki to go with her. It was easier to be underestimated when you dressed cute and sounded cute and looked cute, and had someone that definitely looked like an adult with you.

Something was going on. Khamja were playing their cards close to their chest, but they'd requested the presence of every single member, both shadow and open, for an important meeting.

Road didn't try to surmise what exactly it was that was going on. It wouldn't involve them, at any rate, at least not yet, but there was always the opportunity for new opoortunities. New people, new places, new things to learn and use.

Their directions to the Desert Palace hadn't been the best. The place was hidden, and marking it on maps would be a good way of making it no longer hidden. Not that maps were any help when you were approaching from the other side.

Road gave their transport an affectionate stroke along its bony mask. The journey from Niflheim, where they'd been, to Rabanastre, would have been a boringly long walk if they hadn't hitched a ride. Fortunately, there wasn't a Hollow in existence that would deny a Noah asking a favour.

"Do you think The Earl will be upset if we set off their alarms?" she asked, tilting back from her perch on the Hollow's head to look at Tyki upside down. Her legs dangled down, her feet brushing dangerously close to its teeth, but it wouldn't bite. It wouldn't dare.

The route had been surprisingly well trodden for something in the depths like this. Hollows came this way regularly, but if you were used to Hollows you could tell where they veered away from a spot. They gave population centres a wide berth, or the smart ones did, so you found the paths they took might open out within sight of one, but almost never in one. Not unless they were told to.

The same thing happened here. There were probably wards, or some kind of defense mechanism to keep even the Hollows out of an area that would, normally, be one of their gathering places. Some old, forgotten, sunken ruin beneath the sands, deep in the heart of the Zertinan Caverns would be teeming with Hollows if it wasn't for the fact it wasn't forgotten, or abandoned.

The Hollows stayed away. Whatever was there was too powerful for them to think it worth taking on.

They'd come out of the Garganta into the Caverns, and then pressed on, but now might be a good time to let the Hollow leave. Not that Road was against making an entrance, but it would spoil the fun if everyone knew what they were before they knew what everyone else was.

Comments

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi could feel people in the kitchen. There were five of them, three strangers, two he knew. One of them was Neliel, one of the kitchen regulars, and the other was the Arrancar girl that occasionally made a nuisance of herself. The others... he didn't know. He suspected they'd come to the Palace early in preparation for the meeting about Aizen's arrest.

All three of them, if he was any judge, were Dark Elemental. It wasn't a particularly common element, not compared to the more often seen Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Thunder options, so that was a little unusual.

He was tired, but not as much as he had been. He'd spent a few days away from the palace, in Marluxia's company, and hadn't got back until late last night. He'd gone to bed immediately and slept in, for all he probably should have been more sensible with his sleep pattern. He'd woken up thirsty, so the kitchen was his first port of call.

He pushed the door open and glanced around at the faces inside. Two of them were a dark grey, as if somebody had willed graphite sketches to life. The other had wings. She wasn't an entirely normal colour either, that much was obvious, but she didn't stand out as much as the other two. Marluxia was going to find them very interesting, that was for certain.

He gave Nel a silent nod of greeting and crossed the kitchen to the kettle. Strangers in the kitchen did not mean he couldn't have a cup of coffee.

[lesstravelled]

Road's eyes went wide and she looked around as the door opened. There was no one there, there couldn't be anyone there, she hadn't felt anyone.

And yet there someone was, tall and silent, with long white hair.

How was it possible for him to slip completely under Road's perception? No one could do that, not even the Earl, and he was pretty good at hiding when he wanted to stay undetected.

She watched the man nod to Nel and ignore the rest of them as he made his way across the kitchen and towards the kettle. He had to be a member of the clan, a full one, like her, but she'd never met him before, and she knew nothing at all about him. None of the information the Earl had mentioned a Selkie able to completely suppress his reiatsu.

For the first time, Road found herself looking at someone she didn't want to mess with, even a little.

[declaregamuza]

Nel tried very hard not to smile back at Tyki too obviously. He was rather handsome, and he was just as charming.

He also made her stomach flip with fear, to say nothing of how Gamuza was desperate to escape his presence unnoticed. It wasn't a bad combination; handsome, charming, and frightening, but that was a line of thought Nel needed to stop herself from pursuing.

She was distracted by the dull surprise that was Lumi's entrance to the kitchen. If you stayed in the Palace long enough you got used to that little jolt that went down your spine at a door opening unexpectedly, and eventually every time it happened your brain went 'Lumi' and you got on with things. It wasn't unexpected when Marluxia was with him, of course, but they weren't attached to each other's hips.

"Afternoon," she said, smiling at Lumi and rising from her seat. "Do you want me to get that?" she offered, "I'm making one anyway."

[lilinette]

Lilinette gave a visible jump when the door opened and Lumi walked in. You never knew when he was around a corner, and Lilinette took it as personal insult that he didn't make more noise.

She directed a stern pouting at and a glare at the back of Lumi's head.

"I suppose you would," she agreed, turning back to Kreeth the mistant Aegyl. "So are you all here for the meeting?" she asked. She had a whole host of questions along that avenue to pursue.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi gave a nod and turned to lean on the counter, out of the way of Nel's preparations.

"Thank you," he said, addressing Nel.

He folded his arms and looked over those in the room, both the strangers and the other Arrancar. They all seemed to be quite uncomfortable and he didn't miss Lilinette's glare.

"Have you all come in for the meeting?" He asked, his voice soft, like that of a teacher who knew they didn't have to raise it to command the attention of the class.

[intangibleman]

Road's discomfort at the man walking in undetected did not pass Tyki by unnoticed. He looked over at her, saw her wide eyes and didn't see a trace of the impertinent girl she usually was on her face. The man frightened her. Now that was unusual.

He didn't look all that scary, besides. He was of a height with him, as pale as he was dark, and quite expressionless, the lack almost bordering on disdain.

"Yeah," he said.

[hagsfiend]

"The first few pebbles before the veritable landslide," Kreeth added, grinning.

He was certainly an interesting fellow. With the ability to move around ghost-like and undetected, it was quite likely he wasn't a minion sworn to somebody else, but a member in his own right.

[declaregamuza]

Nel took over the coffee making with a smile. Since Tyki didn't seem to have a preference, she opted to make that for him, too.

You could feel the change in atmosphere at Lumi's entrance. The place had fallen quiet, in the same way a wood did when there was a predator nearby. Lumi seemed to used to having that effect on people that he commanded the room without thinking about it.

Was he stronger than them, she wondered? It was impossible to know for sure, but the thing was, the important thing, was that every single one of them was asking themselves the same question, and coming to the same conclusion.

"I imagine we're going to be very busy over the next few days," she said. She should probably stock up the kitchens. Maybe she should ask Kuja who they were expecting in case there were any particular preferences, or requirements.

[lesstravelled]

Road tucked her surprise at this man's entrance away, and filed it away for future reference. He was one she'd be reporting on to the Earl, that much was certain.

She leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table and regarding the newcomer from his feet up to his hair. He had very long hair, which was normally a mark of someone that cared more about aesthetics than ability, but when you combined it with his total reiatsu suppression, suddenly you had to ask if he could keep his hair that long because no one got close enough to cause him a problem with it.

"So who are you?" she asked, sticking her chin on her hand.

[lilinette]

Lilinette continued to give Lumi a thorough pouting at. Everyone was paying attention to him now, as if he was that interesting. He was just a Ryoka; they weren't even that unusual any more. They had four of them in Khamja, and there were more out there.

[thesilentstorm]

"Lumi," he replied, turning his eyes on Road.

Both hers and those of the other two were yellow, like his. The winged woman had eyes of a different shade, a paler shade, and her different species marked her as being there coincidentally alongside the other two who had quite obviously arrived as a pair. They were undoubtedly related, or another race or species he was as yet unfamiliar with.

"And you are?"

He half wondered why it was the girl who was asking the questions, when the man was clearly her senior. It was possible that she was just mouthy, much like Lilinette, with that youthful lack of filter that bordered on insolence.

[hagsfiend]

Well, that didn't give away any information, did it? Just a name.

He was terse, that was for certain. He was also impolite, if the complete lack of greeting was anything to go by. That, or just somewhat ... withdrawn. It was difficult to tell. One thing he wasn't, however, was nervous. He was clearly at ease, even in a room with strangers. That meant he was either very stupid, or very self-assured and confident in his abilities. She knew which of those her gil was on.

She didn't offer her name just yet, not while he was talking to Road Kamelot specifically.

[lesstravelled]

"Road," Road replied. She didn't bother to give her surname because neither had he. There were some people that never used them, if they knew they had them, she knew that, but so far there had been 'Kreeth' and now 'Lumi'. How many more conspicuously absent surnames had Khamja collected?

"Are you new?" she asked, eyeing Lumi carefully. She knew nothing about him, and it wasn't as if he was just an infrequent anomaly the Noah would have no interest in. Someone powerful enough to slip under everyone's senses was of interest to everyone. "I've not heard of you before."

[declaregamuza]

Nel flicked a glance at Lumi as he was... quizzed. Interrogated had too many connotations, but he was definitely being quizzed. Obviously he'd piqued Road's interest. He was probably going to get a lot of that, in the next few days.

The kettle boiled as she prepared the coffee mugs. "Milk and sugar?" she asked, looking over at Tyki, and seeming oblivious to the terrifying pale man she was stood near.

Lumi wasn't that bad once you got below the surface. Just wait until they found out about Marluxia holding his leash.

[intangibleman]

Tyki looked up at Nel, pulling his attention from Road's questioning of the man. She was worried. Usually she had all the information, so she asked abstract questions, or toyed with them. This man was an unknown quantity and it was of a concern to her.

"Please," he said, giving her another smile.

He didn't feel quite so special now she'd offered the newcomer a drink as well.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi thought about his answer to that question. Was he new? He'd been a member of Khamja for some time now, living in the palace itself for the majority of that time. He wouldn't consider that new, not when others had joined some time after him. Kadaj had become a full member since his and Marluxia's joining, and Ienzo and Even had been brought in during the same timeframe.

"Not particularly," he answered. "My partner and I have been members for a few years."

It seemed, to Lumi's reckoning, that she had been briefed on what she could expect of the meeting and its attendees by... somebody. A boss, perhaps, or an absent associate. That he apparently hadn't been on the roster she'd been given had wrong-footed her and the outdated information that had omitted him had come as a surprise. The man, obviously her chaperone, was less than interested in him, too taken with the ever-popular Nel, so he suspected, against all reason, that she was the brains of the pair. She was too clued up to be a nosy child of Lilinette's ilk, for all that seemed to be how she wanted to come across, and the gap in her information spoke volumes about what she did know.

Marluxia would undoubtedly find that fascinating.

[hagsfiend]

Kreeth listened to the conversation between Road and Lumi with interest.

She hadn't known about him either, but she was under no illusions about being given all the information. Khamja was made up for all sorts, criminals and politicians, supposed paragons of society and thugs from the underground. Some were public, some were not. It seemed that this Lumi was a total unknown, even to somebody who seemed convinced they knew everything they should expect of a Clan meeting, so he wasn't some Ivalician public figure.

Interesting, interesting.

Kreeth doubted that anybody would be so interested in the man had he not ghosted into the room. Powerful people were Khamja's bread and butter, but this one was unexpected and exceptionally dangerous. It was easy to see when a snarling, snapping dog was going to bite you, after all. A silent one suddenly sinking teeth into you always came as much more of a shock.

[lesstravelled]

Partner, Road thought. So he had someone he worked with, which presumably meant that there were two of them of this sort of power level. Unless one was the brains and one the muscle, in which case, well, Lumi had to be the muscle. She hoped.

She gave a murmur as she leaned back in the chair again. "There must be a lot of people who weren't here last time," she said, glancing briefly at Tyki. He was one of them. "And a lot of people that won't be there this time," she added, quietly.

Out of the corner of her eye she gave Lumi another look. "Who's your partner?"

[declaregamuza]

The kettle finished boiling, and Nel set about making the coffees, only half listening to the less than subtle interrogation Lumi was receiving from Road. It sounded like Road had been present the last time Khamja had met, but if that was the case, how long ago had that been, and how old was she? Nel had taken her for Lilinette's age, but maybe she was older than she looked.

That, or Khamja started some of them young.

She slid a finished mug across the counter towards Lumi before she turned to give Tyki a smile. "One or two?" she asked, and then flashed her teeth at him in a grin, "Or ten, but please don't say ten." She'd taken the sugar bowl away from L when she'd counted ten, and that was in tea. She dreaded to think what he'd put in coffee.

[lilinette]

Lilinette grumbled and folded her arms on the table before resting her chin on top of them. She bit her lip, because she wanted to tell the rest of them who, or what, Lumi was, but it might annoy him if she said it right here in front of him. Better to wait until he wasn't in earshot. Then it would only be Nel getting offended, and Lilinette could deal with Nel.

[intangibleman]

Tyki considered saying ten, but resisted the urge. Instead he held up two grey fingers.

"Just two."

Coffee, he'd been told, wasn't something that was supposed to be enjoyed sweet. Sweet was for desserts and the joy of coffee was in the deep black bitterness. He disagreed. He liked milk to take an edge off the astringency and enough sugar to make it palatable.

[thesilentstorm]

Last time? When had the last Khamja meeting been? Before they'd arrived, he could guess. According to what he'd heard from Kuja, the Clan came together less than frequently. This was partly because coordinating them all was a difficult feat and partly because given the nature of many of their members, putting them together was something of a risk.

So how old was the girl? If he wasn't certain that she was no mere underling before, he was now.

"Marluxia," he said, accenting his name in his odd way. "I expect he is in his greenhouse."

He indicated the back door of the kitchen with a tilt of the head and grasped the mug Nel slid to him with a nod of thanks.

[declaregamuza]

Nel gave a nod and a smile. Two was acceptable. As far as sugar content of drinks was concerned, two was acceptable, three was pushing it, and more than five meant you shouldn't be drinking grown up drinks yet.

She added two sugars and gave it a thorough stir before she transported the cup to the table. "There you go," she said. "If you have any dietary preferences, state them now. I tend to do the resupply run." She flashed Tyki a smile as she spoke.

[lesstravelled]

The Gardener, Road thought. She wouldn't have expected someone so fond of flowers to be so powerful. Landscaped gardens with a stately home were one thing, but someone here had taken the time to install insects and birds in their underground enclave.

Partner, though. There were connotations to that word. They came as a pair, it meant. One was always associated with the other.

"And he's your partner?" she asked, stressing the last word just so because, well, there were partners, and there were partners. One type worked together, the other exchanged rings.

[lilinette]

Lilinette bit her lip and squirmed. Everyone thought they were partners even though they were partners, and even Road did, from the sound of it.

Which they were, no matter what Marluxia and Lumi said.

"Everyone says so," she said, giving Lumi a defiant glance. He could deny it if he liked. Lilinette certainly didn't believe him.