Guard Duty [Card Convention ] (Kaida)

This was a time of supposed peace, and all Kaida could think about was how the pack of wolves called the Royals were mingling with humans and sheep. There was no hiding her presence, and she knew that wherever she walked, Gnaw perched on her arm, people were taking notice. "Look, it's one of those princesses. A Royal, right?" "Royal pain in the ass if that's what you mean...she barely even looks like them, raggedy princess!" Kaida turned a careful eye towards the voices, and was severely disappointed that the faces weren't notable, she wasn't likely to find them after this. Shame.

Her attention taken, she didn't notice an upcoming impact until she was stumbling backward, and Gnaw's gurgling growl was sounding in her ears. "Out of my way, royal pain." Someone sneered, and raised a hand to push her aside, only halting as electricity threatened to spill from Gnaw's mouth. "Gnaw." The words barely formed as she spoke, the willingness to simply strike back almost completely overwhelming her desire to survive. "N-not now. No friends around." and stepped aside. Oh, how she hated this.

She needed to get out of this group, even a wolf could be trampled in a herd of prey, all they needed was a provocation, and she couldn't stay docile forever. Gnaw's growls provided good deterrent, and she darted out of the suffocating crowd. A stairwell for VIP and staff...who cared, she wasn't going to get in the way. Maybe one pair of eyes turned on her, and swiftly looked away upon realizing her alliance with the Royals. She wasn't sure if anyone would try to stop her, and didn't very much care. She ended up with a bird eye's view far above the crowd...and felt safe, but it seemed she wasn't the only one who had the same idea. "Er...you didn't want to be down there either?" She chirped experimentally, tilting her head at the feline Digimon. Gnaw didn't growl, observing the crowds with the same curiosity she turned upon Ikou.

Ikou

At first, the steps she had already heard quite often did not suffice to force Ikou out of her thoughts. However, as a familiar voice entered her ears, she opened her golden eyes again and almost gasped from amazement. Taking in a deep breath, the dark feline tilted her head to face the fine if headstrong lady she had become an acquaintance of during an unpleasantly loud party a short time ago. Blinking several times, she decided to display proper mannerisms by bowing gently to both Kaida and her partner Gnaw, a Betamon, who she had not personally encountered before.

"Good evening, Madame Adachi and sir...?" She calmly bid the duo a gracious welcome. Keeping her outer poise and inner peace, the BlackSalamon moved a few inches out of the way in case the gentleman and gentlewoman desired to utilize the railing as a rest, too. Reassuming her previous stance, the hopefully comely cat joined her amphibian associate in surveying the crowd to assure that no bad apples would be left unnoticed to taint the strange spree that was card games.

"This is an excellent vantage point. Neither do I have any intention of causing a ruckus through my mere presence alone." Ikou explained with a politely unwound tone to her voice. It was still bizarre to her that the otherwise liberal Royals were so strict and cautious when it came to the interactions of humans and digimons, but she did not carry within her the impetus to challenge those who had treated her with inconceivable benevolence. Perish the thought the hubris this act would demand. No... she gladly preferred, at least for the moment, to remain on the sideline and recompense her caregivers in whatever reasonable way they saw fit.

Guard duty was a splendid task in her opinion. Regardless, the unassuming virus had to smile benignly. Tilting her body so her gaze would meet that of Kaida and Gnaw, she grinned faintly yet genuinely. "But yes. I really don't wanna be down there. Too warm and moist, hehe." She joked, hoping this little jest broken the ice that had remained intact at the aforementioned party.

Kaida couldn't help but be a little relived that the Digimon was the one she met at the party, and not some look-a-like, and hastily bowed her head in greeting as well, tilting her head at the Betamon waddling near her feet, "They're Gnaw. Don't talk much." She barely noted the similarity between her and her Digimon, instead moving to swing her feet over the railing, though she was careful to keep her hands tight on the railing.

Gnaw simply laid near the railing, wide eyes blinking sedately as they grumbled out, "Weak people down there...no fight though. No friends." The explanation came with no context, but was at least clear. Neither Kaida nor Gnaw wanted to cause trouble where everybody could see them.

The little joke forced a smile on Kaida's face, and she started tapping her feet rhythmically, "We're all warm. Don't know how we humans stand each other." She tried to joke back, to Gnaw's confused gurgle. "I can't stay there...not cause their warm...everyone knows Royals, it felt dumb to walk with people who would push me." She leaned forward to a rush of vertigo, "I like to stay up here, there's no humans so I can't feel stupid." She couldn't mess up with social duties when she was with creatures that needed no such things.

Not shying away from showing her appreciation, it was obvious that Ikou was delighted by the courtesy Kaida returned to her. It was befitting to a member of the Royals and she openly appreciated impeccable mannerisms unlike almost all of her kin. She did not mind being an outlier in that way as she considered herself a fine example of the unity that was possible between her species and humans. If people only sat down for a minute and recognized their folly. Alas, reality was not as simple as her pipe dreams - or the joy this convention evoked in many.

"Gnaw... very well." The BlackSalamon calmly acknowledged the name and reticence of the Betamon. Whatever he preferred she was happy to comply with. Glad to know that her acquaintances accepted her offer to join her on the railing, they continued to survey the area for anything out of the ordinary. Aside from petulant children and mostly abortive costumes, everything was alright which made the green amphibian's statement quite puzzling. Was the lad measuring the visitors' power? Curious. "Splendid." She commented, pleased to learn that neither additional companions nor enemies were present. Tranquility, relatively speaking, was preserved for the moment.

Enraptured by Lady Adachi's smile, the dark kitten quietly listened to what she desired to tell her. Unfortunately, the gag was not a hit that struck the cat or the jokester's partner. A bit of body heat was acceptable, but the surge of a thousand souls was overwhelming, not? In any case, as the topic of conversation shifted to something sincere, Ikou was once again all for it, eager to find out about her comrade's peculiarities.

"Aren't we... I-I mean you, the Royals, not respected for your accomplishments? And why would you perceive yourself as stupid when among your kind?" She expressed her curiosity with the hope that she did not accidentally cause old wounds to resurface. Clearly things were not as distinct as believed a short time ago. Individuals were complicated regardless of their affiliations and general agenda. Perhaps Kaida longed for the opportunity to unburden herself. If not, then the BlackSalamon was happy to merely proceed with her task.

Perhaps the questions could have felt offensive, or unneeded, but again, Kaida seemed more comfortable with the presence of the inhuman creatures. Besides, being up here made one feel a little above things. Together? It felt caricature of friendship. Kaida wasn't bold enough to assume chance meetings made people friends with each other, but talking with an acquaintance was far...safer, than a stranger.

A hum started to break through Kaida's lips before she shrugged, "They might, if we had less idiots. Most people don't act like you, and they don't look at you, they look at humans. Humans that look like jokes, that love the parties..." She did something in her throat that cut off her words with a throaty snarl, "I think they're more scared of our "king"...he got money. Very important." She didn't linger on the thought of joining this group for this money, for this fear. It was better than nothing, but any simpleton could tell you that respect was better, there were less chances for a fearful attack then.

With her words already flowing, she barely halted at the next question, only pausing long enough for Gnaw to let out a whimper, worried that a nerve might have been struck. But the woman didn't seem phased, the bluntness was welcome. "Um...I must be stupid, cause humans look at me that way. They look at you like you're cute, you look like a cat, but act human. You're cute. Not the other way though. If a human doesn't act like a human, you can look at them funny. If you get looked at funny, then that means they think you're stupid, you know." Her mind was drifting to the uncomfortable situation in the party. They thought that she was stupid, or insubordinate, she liked to think that they were the same thing when it came to social problems. Her gaze hardened as she stared down into the talking humans, "Do you like acting human? Or do you have no choice, it's you? My "me" wants to fight those people down there until the Royals are the only things, and I can't choose that."

When Kaida, to her delight, began talking, Ikou of course felt obliged to remain perfectly calm and quiet to listen carefully. She did not wish to miss anything just in case it was a relevant detail. Some people were quite sensitive, and though she did not believe her female acquaintance was among their ranks, there was always the possibility of a deviation from her impressions. In spite of Earth's culture claiming a firm grasp on its inhabitants, everyone was still an individual with their at times peculiar idiosyncrasies. Great examples were the mentally fragile boy and pretty much every cosplayer. Curious indeed...

"Idiots... huh." The BlackSalamon whispered, perceiving the diction as plain yet probably suitable if given a moment of thought. There were certainly individuals who preferred their own kind and relished the unpleasantly loud and fetid parties. Was that the majority of the Royals however? Truth be told the dark cat had a hard time believing that. They had been so courteous and welcoming to her without expecting anything significant in return. No... deep inside she refused to simply accept aforementioned accusations. Instead, her conclusion was that there were a couple of bad apples that sullied the whole harvest. Negativity is often a stronger emotion than positivity.

Appreciating the implicit compliment regardless, she sat down on the railing and folded her forelegs. Why would folks be afraid of her sire? From what she had seen he was an unwound gentleman. Clearly he utilized his authority if necessary and was not the most tactful when it came to his vocabulary, but did that and his wealth already suffice to frighten others off of him? "I'm not afraid. He seemed... laid-back on that party. He only interfered because it was his responsibility - no reason to feel trepidation." The swart feline calmly expressed her point of view, hoping that her companions did not mind.

Glad that her second question had not touched a nerve of Lady Adachi, Ikou remained in her current stance but visibly relaxed. Again, she was more inquisitive than worried of what she would learn tonight. Separating facts from emotions was a professional skill of hers. "But opinions are not objective, right?" The BlackSalamon asked almost rhetorically. Admittedly, the same went for a person's self-image. Honestly, she was not one to give credence to the sentiments of many. Factums guided her actions while feelings were a variety of spices that enriched or tainted the vast meal that was existence.

"I'm not acting. I simply am." She stated easygoingly, not wishing to be perceived as phony. As for Kaida's expression of will, she did not shy away from displaying her perplexity with widened eyes. What a surreal desire the madame carried within her heart. "Why do you want a world where there is nothing but the organization? Seems drearily empty to me." She commented, intrigued to learn whence her interlocutor came. Too bad Gnaw was not very talkative.

So the feline wasn't a liar, that was good. Just as Kaida expected, the Digimon had little to hide. It seemed embarrassing or offending somebody was a human construct. Luckily, the feline she was talking to had all the intelligence of a human, and evidently wasn't much of a trickster or liar. Best of both worlds, she reckoned.

The king had come up earlier, and Kaida tilted her head at Ikou's answer. "I'm not scared of him either. We know him, so we respect him, not fear him. But most people get scared of things they don't know, or can't fight. So he scares normal people." She almost laughed, normal people. By this point, she'd hate to be them. Normal people were weak people in a world of Digimon.

And she was right. Opinions weren't objective, so Kaida let the question stand. She wasn't smart enough to argue against something rhetorical, and didn't very much want to. Gnaw simply shook their head in near bafflement, split between wanting to listen to the conversation and wanting to look at the crowd, silly thing.

Why do you want a world where there is nothing but the organization? Seems drearily empty to me.

"But safe." Kaida looked over at her height again, "I'm not a Digimon, if I so much as fall, I could die and I don't come back. I don't want to leave Gnaw behind as long as possible, so I don't want to die. If I know everybody, then they won't attack me...or I'll see it coming." Data could learn and be more powerful. Meat? They liked to be safe, no matter the cost...yet Kaida knew that minds could split away from this, so she asked, "Do you want to do something other than survive?" It seemed useless, but she had to know. Besides, she needed to know everyone.

"I see." Ikou answered calmly, finally comprehending the reason why many people apparently had a tendency to fear thr Royals and especially the king. It was a lack of understanding and possibly communication as the less successful lingered in their shadow of which she was now a part of. A strange sentiment, but relatable. It was similar to lesser digimons avoiding those who had ascended past their limitations. If the sovereigns were evil or good was mostly of no concern. Their power alone caused plenty to be awe-stricken. For those who utilized their might to serve commonwealth it was a great pity.

With the subject of crowds being stupid and the relativity of opinions dropped, the BlackSalamon quietly and carefully listened to the reasoning Kaida put forth. Her preference for a uniform world, particularly one created through violence, was bizarre to say the least. Though far from reticent, the dark cat would have never thought of her civil acquaintance as rowdyish. It truly was a difficult notion to believe, but that did not mean she did not consider it. However, instead of premature judgment, she attempted to comprehend whence her current colleague's point of view came.

Safety - but to the harm of uncountable souls who certainly longed for the same. It was quaint that the recognition of this mutual desire did not suffice for universal safeguards. Politicians were often corruptible and the local police was ill-equipped to face significant dangers. Worst of all, they were almost always reactionary, not proactive. "Your relationship with Gnaw is exemplary, Madame Adachi." Ikou credited her kindly and genuinely in an attempt to ease the tension brought by philosophy. Yet it was clear that she sincerely perceived their bond as admirable. If everyone was capable of simply coexisting like that, then both worlds would be at peace forever and her anxiety for diversity had no grounds.

Hearing Kaida's question, the BlackSalamon gave it a few moments of thought until she decided to stand up again while her golden eyes remained on the masses beneath them. "Of course I do. Self-preservation is pointless without an impetus, don't you think? Yours for example is your charming affection for your partner and friend." She answered chummily as her gaze shifted to the fine woman. It was with a soft smile that the graceful kitten looked at her - someone from whom she wished to be regarded as a friend as well.

Kaida tilted her head as Ikou changed the subject. Not a bad thing, mind you. A great change, actually. "Thank you." Her voice was quiet, "We're partners." From below, Gnaw suddenly jumped up and perched with great effort next to Kaida, hissing out far louder than they had spoken before, "Siblings! We're connected!" A clawed paw shook Kaida's shoulder as she stubbornly barked out, "Connected. Digimon and human." Gnaw hadn't done this with others yet, talked, much less call her sibling. Some heat was in her cheeks, stupid Gnaw, stupid her.

Ikou was right, it could only be called an affection, their bond. Still didn't change the fact ghat it sounded extra cheesy to refer to it that way. "That's good, I don't want to hear that you got killed before you do what you want, ok? That'd be pathetic." She pointingly pushed Gnaw away so that she could extend a hand towards Ikou, apparently to pat her on the head in an affectionate gesture. It was really too bad she didn't have a human, they might almost have been tolerable. As it was, Kaida was smiling with her teeth hidden, a good sign, with her.