2023-09-13: The Anniversary of Second Impact

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<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        A year ago today, rain had fallen on Tokyo-3 while a somber procession had worked its way around the city. In present day, it's happening again. It's not for Fujinomiya City, though there are many who are fretting over what happened there the other day, and ironically some of its citizens may well have evacuated here. Being a fortress, there's not a lot of room for celebration, but the anniversary of Second Impact is a little different. Given NERV's purpose, many who live here are those who were hit especially hard by the floods and wars that followed that disastrous event, and so this is a special, if unhappy, day.
        
        It's a special if unhappy day for Kaworu, too. That's something Shinji found out last year, thanks to Misato letting slip a little something from his file. Back then, he and Mari had brought Kaworu a cake and presents, and it had cheered him up.
        
        Today, on this obscenely sunny afternoon, a cool breeze that hints at the coming fall, they watch the procession pass down the road from the overpass bridge where they'd met up three hundred and sixy-five days ago. It's a good spot to watch the black parade, and so they're far from alone--but they are together, linked by a pair of earbuds and the SDAT Shinji clutches. Both are dressed in the uniform of the high school they mutually attend that looks no different from their former middle school's uniform, Shinji with his blue undershirt, Kaworu with his violet. In deference to the cooling weather, Shinji also wears a black and white moon-themed hoodie--a gift Kaworu had brought him from the Moon last year.
        
        In time, the procession passes, and the crowd thins, until there's only a certain number of people left. Shinji leans on the railing and looks over at his companion, the dulcet melodies of Chopin in their ears.
        
        "Are you okay?" he asks.
        
        Kaworu looks up at him, his smile bittersweet. He knows why he's asking. "Yes. Thank you," he replies.
        
        Shinji smiles back--later, at Kaworu's place, they'll share some birthday cupcakes--but for now, he turns his gaze up at the pellucid sky. "If only the Angels had never come to Earth. People wouldn't be grieving like this now."
        
        Kaworu's smile fades. His gaze rises to Heaven too. "...Yes."
        
        "We've been fighting them all this time, and I still don't really understand what they want. Even Duma... If he really did like humans, why couldn't he have just lived peacefully with us?"
        
        "...It's hard to say."
        
        "Still... he must've been really lonely. Humans didn't accept him, Angels didn't accept him..." Shinji catches the surprised look Kaworu shoots him and adds, "Remember? When the second version of Sandalphon showed up, Duma tried to stop it, but it attacked him."
        
        "I remember," Kaworu replies.
        
        "I don't know... I know we had to stop him, but it still makes me sad to think about. I can't even imagine how it must've felt for him to face his own kind. But then, it's tough enough fighting them ourselves." He pauses. "I wonder what they said to each other. Did they even say anything at all? Could they?" Shinji looks back up at the sky. "Just what are Angels, really...?" 

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        "Oh, I think it's just one of those interesting little ironies. Things that are 'lonely' in this world are rarely utterly unlike anyone else. Rather, they're just cursed with a latent antipathy for that which is familiar."

        Sitting on the railing a few meters away, C.C. keeps her eyes on the procession below. A somewhat unusual mode of dress, even for her - the familiar straitjacket-esque attire...but black with white straps, an inversion.

        She wasn't there when Shinji and Kaworu arrived - it's hard to say when she did settle herself there. Her habit of sneaking into frame is well-documented, after all.

        "Maybe it's akin to magnetism? Those who are strongly 'one natured' can neither coexist with those like themselves, nor those who exist in the perfect lattice of dual harmony. They must simply struggle to find that which is so dissimilar that they can unify."

        Legs swaying in the wind. The green-haired witch is normally quite carefree, but there's a mild...flickering in her eyes. C.C.'s come here every year for this exact ritual. The anniversary of the devastation wrought by Second Impact.

        An upside down parade in honor of her sins.

        Penance, isn't it? 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


It's not really a day for celebration even for Asuka. It's a day of cause and effect. Second Impact came and went, she was created as a response to it. She didn't grow up during the Impact Wars, she read about them in the book.

A day that gave cause to her existence, and purpose. Yet...

Celebrate? Nah. More a day for introspection.

She took the long way home today, alone, in her school uniform. Her eyes not looking at the procession below after the first glance, her school bag held over her shoulder as she walks above it, in a perpendicular direction.

She only sees the pair far too late, as she stops - and stares for a long moment. Then closing her eyes, carries forward. She's not the type for small talk or greetings or anything like that.

She figures she'll get noticed by one of them and...

'Just what are Angels, really...?' While looking at the sky.

Asuka pauses in her step, giving Shinji a look, even as C.C. joins in. "Why are you even asking questions like that? They're just things that need to die for humanity to live."

She then eyes C.C. like 'who the hell are you' her face transforming from suspicion to 'vague recollection' of a green haired girl during GUTs events.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Rei Ayanami had come forth to this memorial of Second Impact, but it might have been supposed that it did not make much of a - if you can forgive the term - impact upon her. Then again, what does?

It is cool enough that she wore a cream-white sweater over her uniform dress, a last minute improvisation with slightly too-big sleeves. She had ended up watching some distance from the others, by herself if no doubt under the watchful eye of Section 2, and afterwards --

She had seemed to disappear.

(She had in fact gone to the end of the bridge and paid a visit to a convenience store. The goods were immediately consumed on premises.)

Now Rei is walking back along the much thinner crowd of the bridge, having intended all along to rejoin the others - Kaworu and Shinji, at least.

It means that her look has a few things in common with C2 as she gets near enough to see her, although the woman only gets a curious look. Rei might not have immediately recognized her.

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        "A misleading name, perhaps. Given to creatures that people lack understanding of."

        Chloe leans against a street lamp, in her usual uniform. It's a bit strange perhaps to see her. As she often doesn't spend a lot of time in the city. But the thing about memorial days like this is they can put a serious crimp on productivity. And so she had some time to pass while waiting for the delayed shipment she was here to escort to finally be ready.

        Chloe glances over in the direction of the others who have also found themselves here, continuing her thoughts, "To attribute them to the divine is simply a coping mechanism. When in reality all they are, are monsters that threaten lives. And targets that we are tasked to destroy." Spoken like a soldier! Which, of course, Chloe is. There is no hatred or malice in the tone of voice.

        They are pilots. This is their mission. What more is there to know?

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Had Rikka Takarada been born into this world, she would have been one year old when Second Impact occurred. ...But she wasn't. It's not a part of her history. A part of her wonders if she should even be here, given that - an intruder on a ceremony not meant for her.

But she still wants to visit - still wants to pay respects for the many lives lost and irreversibly changed from the events of that day.

And so, she came by - said her prayers, left offerings, and as she departs to make use of the rest of her time in Tokyo-3 before she has to head back to catch the shuttle home...

...She runs into a gathering of familiar faces. And so, Rikka finds herself gravitating toward them, offering a wave.

"Hey, everyone..." She greets. They're talking about... Angels?

"...I still don't know much about them." Rikka admits. ...Even though she'd helped fight one before. But then, who really does?

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

For those stationed on Orbit Base, it's been quite the up-and-down week - facing off an assault from the forces of Triple Zero, while GoldyMarg and TenRyuJin wreaked havoc in Fujinomiya. Although they managed to purify two of their greatest heroes, the attack ended with Dr. Hell mustering his own army to occupy the city. There's little they can do for their allies except assist in evacuation and relocation efforts, but even still...

Alouette made the time to join the processions in Tokyo-3. It's not often she dresses in black, but she thought it ought to be appropriate for such a time of mourning.

She knows the... impact the Second Impact had, and growing up in the AEU, had seen it in many ways. But it's still worth thinking about. The bridge is a good place for pondering such things.

'What are Angels, really...?' Shinji asks, in earshot. Alouette is reminded of her conversation with the Wolfpack's pilot, who was willing to sabotage NERV's entire mission just to answer that question. "If anything..." Alouette starts. "It's somewhat of a luxury we can even ask ourselves that question." She raises, even if it wasn't exactly her being addressed.

"It's like Asuka says, right? Most of the Angels that attacked us never made the effort to understand humanity, after all... and the one who did try got it totally wrong." Duma... their core lost to the Wolfpack, she does spare a thought for how it might be doing.

"On the other hand, NERV's goal isn't necessary to kill all the Angels. It's to prevent the Third Impact. If figuring out what they're supposed to be makes that easier, there's nothing wrong with trying. But at the same time... how could there be anything wrong with protecting ourselves when they put our very world in danger? It's a much harder question to answer when it's our backs to the wall." She frowns, considering all the disasters and damage, not to mention war, the Second Impact started. They can't let it happen again.

She watches as Rei walks their way, and then she squints at C.C., coming to a similar conclusion to Asuka. That weird girl surprisingly quick to objectify herself at GUTS - what did she introduce herself as again? Shiro something?

She's a bit surprised to see Rikka too, knowing it's not part of her history. She acknowledges her effort to understand, offering her a respectful bow instead of a casual wave, considering the occasion. 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        It's strange to be memorializing one tragedy while more violence is unfolding mere miles away. But the Universal Century slows for no one. Liam left a store-bought prayer candle at one of several large makeshift shrines, a gesture of solidarity from one survivor to others.

        Liam didn't lose family in Second Impact, because he'd lost everyone but his parents in the One Year War.

        Having done that, he walked off to overpass, only to find a gathering there. "...Did we all have the same thought?" he asks, a little gentle teasing followed quickly by an equally-gentle smile and wave. Liam is dressed for cooler weather: a light black hoodie, a grey t-shirt, and jeans. He's even breaking in a new pair of utility boots.

        He's silent for a moment, considering what Alouette says. "Know your enemy. Right?" A brief pause, and he adds: "You weren't... here for Mari's explanation, were you, Rikka?"

<Pose Tracker> Yuka Ohta has posed.

Many of those gathered today are pilots... but not all. And while STORAGE is theoretically a NERV-Branch, their remit is certainly different. A general anti-kaiju taskforce, as opposed to angel-hunting. For that reason, while most of those gathering here are expressing a sentiment of 'know thine enemy', or otherwise talking about how they need to fight Angels. One person remains silent at first.

That is after all, a part of why she'd been kept far away from the events surrounding Duma. An open secret, or at least one that's not exactly well-kept. An understanding that the woman here in a mourning-variant on her work-regulation jumpsuit would likely argue against the procedure of Extermination, until the moment when every option was exhausted. Far too long a wait for many to accept. Not that she's opposed to fighting hostile entities, she just had a certain view of the situation that some might call nave. A belief that reasoning had still been possible perhaps.

And so, she clacks away quietly at a small laptop, writing down an entry about the day's experiences. Expressing her feelings on the losses from Second Impact in her own way, through custom coding of a yet-secretive project. Still... hanging around in silence is bound to get awkward and a little creepy if she doesn't say anything at all, so eventually she has to speak up. Despite some nervousness that shows in how the frame of her glasses hold a thin layer of sweat upon them, despite the chill in the air. "I believe that briefing was before we had any concrete knowledge of Tsutsujidai's existence." 

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        True. There might be a parade, but it's not really a celebration, per se.
        
        "Huh?" Shinji blinks over at C.C. when she chimes in on the conversation. It's not like it was a private conversation--they are out in public, watching a public procession--but he hadn't anticipated a stranger on weighing in. Especially not a stranger wearing an outfit as weird as that.
        
        What she actually says, though... He's not wholly sure he follows, but he gets the gist: sometimes, someone just doesn't belong anywhere. Shinji's eyelashes droop as he frowns faintly. "..."
        
        Kaworu, however, only smiles at the green-haired girl, as is his wont. "Perhaps so. But all living beings have their own struggles, whether with those that are like or unlike them. Loneliness is a function of the soul--of whether one acknowledges or rejects the familiarity of that which surrounds it."
        
        Shinji is too familiar himself to be surprised that Kaworu entertains this strange girl's commentary as if he'd been conversing with her in the first place. Rather, he looks over at Asuka, passing by by sheer coincidence, and makes a face somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "Why shouldn't I? Just because we have to fight them doesn't mean we shouldn't think about why we're fighting..." He glances to one side at Rei as she rejoins the group, and adds, "Right, Ayanami?"
        
        Shinji realizes his mistake a second too late.
        
        Fortunately, Chloe is right there, providing her soldier's insight. For all that he's technically a pilot in a paramilitary organization, Shinji will never be a soldier. "You sound just like Asuka," he comments, and though his tone may be wry, there's a subtle smile on his lips that may hint that this is more a compliment than anything else.
        
        It fades as Alouette chimes in though. She has a point about this line of thinking being a luxury. "So is it pointless after all...?" he wonders aloud, glancing away. His frown deepens as she goes on. "I didn't say we shouldn't fight them. I know it's everyone's lives on the line," he says defensively--maybe overly so. "But even if they aren't literally angels, they're different from other kaiju, aren't they? They're just... weird. It's only natural to wonder about them."
        
        Kaworu doesn't remark, eyes lidding as his gaze lowers.
        
        As Rikka approaches, though, both Shinji and Kaworu offer her a smile; Shinji raises a hand in greeting in a not-quite-wave, while Kaworu gives her a friendly nod. Shinji's smile turns rueful again at her input. "Me neither," he says--and he has arguably fought more Angels than anyone here.
        
        With Liam on her heels, Shinji finally gives up on continuing to listen to music while holding a conversation and removes his earbud. Kaworu does the same and hands his to Shinji; they share a glance while their hands brush together. Shinji looks away quickly, offering Liam a subdued smile. Hoodie homies! (...is something Shinji would never say out loud.) "It sure seems that way."
        
        It is strange. But tragedy seems to bring people together as much as it tears them apart. Shinji carefully tucks his earbuds in one pocket while Kaworu tucks away his hand. Shinji's eyes shift to Yuka as she pipes in about the Angel 101 session; Mari and Kaworu had both led that, he remembers. He looks back at his companion, who smiles back at him. Right... just like Dr. Ohta's a kaiju expert, Kaworu is like that too, only he specializes in Angels, as Shinji recalls. It'd been so long he'd nearly forgotten.
        
        "What do you think Angels are, Kaworu-kun?" he wonders.
        
        "Me? Hmm..." He looks over to Yuka. "What do you think? You love kaiju more than anyone, after all."
        
        Shinji makes a face, smiling an exasperated smile. "I was asking you..." he murmurs. 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


"'Why' we're fighting?"

Rei gets a glance from Asuka as Shinji asks HER for validation, and both Shinji and Rei get quite a dark look at that moment.

"Pretty obvious if you ask me, but go on, Ultra Girl. If you've got a different opinion then tell us."

Whereas Rikka - Asuka nods at her greeting towards her, "What's there to even know? It's-"

A pause.

"-What she said."

Asuka said as she cants her head towards Chloe. However Shinji's response, "And what's wrong with sounding like me?"

Alouette, her validation is something she accepts at first with a nod, until it shifts somewhat. "Doesn't feel like there is any other way than killing them all, Curls. Other than Duma their instinct was always to attack the Geofront - and even Duma still almost ended humanity."

Liam's comment however earns him a shrug, "What's there to know? We know enough to kill them. Every Angel seems unique in ways you aren't gonna figure out until they reveal themselves to kill us. Trying to study them feels like a lethal proposition."

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

The world continues turning, and marching forward step by step is the path toward tomorrow that is afforded to Braves. Nonetheless....there is value to looking back. Guy had been a child when Second Impact swept the world. His father's wealth and prestige had shielded him from much of the ugly side of those days, and Guy Shishioh was then in the early throes of his dream to become an astronaut and follow in his ill-fated mother's footsteps.

Protecting people from such calamity is now his everyday. The least he can do is look upon the sorrows of those who remember it more clearly. Guy arrives shortly after Alouette. Unlike his usual jumpsuit and long vest, he too is in rare black mourning attire today - a black suit and a single black glove besides. His left hand, the hand of Protection that shines with his G-Stone's power, remains uncovered. His promise to be ready, whenever needed.

"Might be so," he says, ambling up, in response to Asuka. "But understanding your enemy in the long term is critical. If we hadn't been studying every Zonder we faced for patterns, we might never have stopped them in time when they started making moves to prepare Metal Plants and spore generators."

He grins, a bit subdued, but not unbowed by memorial sorrows. "Even kaiju have motives, origins. They act with purpose. The Angels more than most, I think." 

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Rei comes near enough to hear and to speak; to see and be seen. Shinji asks her a question. She blinks once.

"They are different from kaiju, I think," Rei says. "Kaiju are great beasts. I have seen images of a number of them. Only the Fourth and Fifth, I think, were of that sort."

This doesn't answer Shinji's question.

"We fight the Angels because they seek to cause Third Impact," Rei says. But that's not all she says: "If an entity had no interest in such a thing, and dwelt between the stars in peace, I do not know if it would even be called an Angel."

Her eyes turn down afterwards, and stay there for a few moments. This reverie, or burst of sorrow, ends and she looks towards Rikka. "What would youw ant to know?"

Fortunately, Guy Shishioh appears. (Not the first time someone has said or thought this.) Rei looks towards him and blinks twice. "There were many Zonders." Was it a question? Or merely a bleak observation?

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        There sure is a lot of people here all of a sudden.

        Chloe doesn't seem to mind-or react at all really-to being described as sounding like Asuka. Is it a compliment? Is it an insult? She's not sure. Not that it really matters.

        "There are many things out there. Many are weird. Kaiju are again, just another name for classifying a threat. We do not classify the Meteora that infrequently attack the Underground City as Kaiju. Nor do they appear to be Angels. They are weird. Giant creatures, if you can call them that, which threaten the world and the people we fight to protect."

        Chloe shrugs a little, "The world is clearly full of weird. They may have reasons for what they do. Reasons we may not understand yet. But there are minds greater than our own studying those reasons. That is their purpose, as scientists. Our purpose is to fight. To protect."

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        "Hoooh. Quite a lot of company for this little vigil, have we?" C.C. muses, craning her back rearward to gaze balefully at - well. The witch has passing familiarity, if not active recount, with the children Kaworu's told her about.

        "Hmmm. Well met, I guess. I'm Cetra Clearbell today." (not actually a new one!) "As far as 'familiarity' goes...mm. Well, that's easy for you to say, Kaworu. I'd call you cursed with an overdose of familiarity in your life that nonetheless captivates you, whereas I can't help but see the same patterns in new landscapes. It's always funny, but I guess a little inevitable, that we're meeting at this point in time."

        That's probably the strangest thing to most of the gathered company - how this weird girl with a self-professed false name is so very comfortable around Kaworu, even as she gives off an almost cold, judgmental, analytical affect to everyne else.

        The arrival of the King of Braves certainly calls a lot of attention - while everyone here is extraordinary in their own way, Guy Shishioh practically thrums with it. "Hoooooh. That's right, that's right. I never got around to encountering that "Evoluder". Well well well. First our dear Akane, avatar of metamorphosis, and now you, the ever-burning beacon of tomorrow." Despite the lilt in C.C.'s voice, her eyes have only barely unlidded, her posture almost perilously pulled backward, legs crossed over one another.

        "...Haven't all of these children changed quite a bit? Ne, Kaworu - no. Never mind. All of you who can no longer help but smell like the ichor of nephilim-" (She is talking about the Evangelion pilots! And looking at them while saying that! She is allergic to normal turns of phrases.) "-...On a scale of one to ten, I'd like to know whether you assess that you could attain that goal. The ideal made manifest that this "Evoluder" represents."

        "Then go ahead and give me the same rating, but applied to when you're as cozily in harmony with those giants of blood NERV treasures."

        (She is saying 'giant of blood' in a similar cadence to 'giant of light'! Bear with her, she's cursed to be like this. The curse known as 'abject boredom'.) 

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

The girl she knows as Shiranui Shirome is here... but, apparently she's Cetra Clearbell, today. Rikka takes that in stride.

Alouette offers her views and, honestly, that makes a lot of sense to Rikka. They have to fight them to survive... but killing them isn't necessarily the goal. But there's nothing wrong with doing what they need to, either. Rikka returns her respectful bow with one of her own - and when Asuka nods her greeting, Rikka nods back.

She looks toward Liam, then, and shakes her head.

"No, I wasn't. I don't think I heard about that one." She replies. Shinji gets a sympathetic look at that rueful smile, as he admits that he doesn't know that much about them, either. She smiles back. "...So it's not just me."

Asuka asks her what there is to know - and Rei asks her what she'd want to know. Rikka has to take a second to think about that - and in that time, Guy has a lot of good to say.

...It sounds like Cetra met Akane, recently, too.

"...Well, I guess... I wonder what they are. Where they come from, what they want, and why... It's fine to fight them to protect everyone, but it'd be nice if you all didn't have to fight them forever." Rikka considers. The Angels seek to cause Third Impact, Rei says - but why? Is it an instinct, or a command from an outside force...? 

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"It's not pointless," she answers Shinji, almost assuring him his question isn't useless. "If we have the luxury to ask questions like that, I think it's actually pretty valuable to. If it means those of you in Evangelions have to fight less... it's worth it, right?" She knows the young man has quite the burden - and he doesn't seem to internalize it as effortlessly as Asuka, either.

"I'm not saying you're wrong, Asuka," Alouette nods, holding back a slight giggle at the Curls nickname. "But if we could understand why they want the Geofront so badly... other than it being NERV's base operations, it could help us all the more in keeping it safe." Hiding her gaze for a moment, she adds, "After all, I don't think it's so simple. I think this became NERV's base of operations because it's where the Angels attack, rather than vice versa. I do wonder what secrets this island holds..." There's pure curiosity in her tone.

She nods when Guy too, approaches behind her and speaks. "It's exactly that... we're on eleven Angels, now. There's bound to be more... so we need to know more if the actual fate of humanity lies in our hands."

She considers the differences from kaiju, though, when Rei mentions it... "On the other hand, Zonders relied on human emotions. They were predictable that way. Even other kaiju are predictable based on the laws of nature. But other than their going for the Geofront and initiate Third Impact... we're dealing with totally inhuman desires when it comes to the Angels. Duma taught us that much."

C.C.'s approach also doesn't get good marks in Alouette's books. That's definitely a different name from the last time she introduced herself. She gives Guy a look, as if to say, 'someone's being weird about your Evoluderness again'. "Can... I help you?" She asks, because the witch is really kind of in the way of her vantage point. "And really? You spoke to Akane? I guess you know Kaworu, too. You really do get around..."

"I agree with Rikka, though. I'm willing to fight if it's what it takes... but the last thing I want is for it to be our entire purpose." Even Asuka... she's sure deserves so much more than that. "I'm not foolish enough to think they'll listen if we ask nicely. But if we could put an end to whatever's causing them to descend? That might be for the best..." Could it be like the Zondarians? Merely an advance force for a much more cosmic threat?

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


"There are many things in the world," Rei agrees with Chloe. A breeze passes by. Then she looks towards C.C. as she offers a challenge, an eloquent one and one which is also extremely close to the point. Rei's face crinkles in momentary suspicion, but, well:

She's surrounded. Maybe she just works for GGG in some obscure position. Rei remembers her, belatedly enough: she saw her at a vegetable market.

"Seven," Rei answers C.C.

<Pose Tracker> Yuka Ohta has posed.

Yuka considers the question a moment. "While I don't know their origins, I can say they're a species with intelligence from the stars. It's likely that intelligence is varied, given the tactics we see, and their way of reasoning is something we aren't currently capable of fully understanding. To put it simply, their thought process is alien to us. Kaiju are similar though. They operate on a level of reasoning that runs the scale from animal instinct to frightening intelligence that can be... incredibly human. To the point of religious orders and societies being formed around them." Several mythologies have been forged surrounding the actions of kaiju. And then there's a certain cybernetic entity that came from especially far away. Gillvalis.

"I would say that... understanding isn't truly impossible. But that many are likely... perhaps fanatical, is an apt term of comparison." Not exactly identical, but a close enough term to be widely understood. "To my point then, Kaiju and Angels should both be evaluated on an individual basis. That some of each cannot be reasoned with or talked into coexistence is regrettable. And in those cases, we have those willing to fight. But study... the research I do, when allowed to conduct it, will hopefully advance us to be able to better reach harmony with them all." Of course she knows those words are what NERV would call treason. But she really, really doesn't care what Gendo Ikari's stuffed suits think.

She glances to each other gathered figure in turn. Giving consideration to their expressions and reaction to her thoughts. Words which were after all, requested of her. 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

The anniversary of Second Impact is a somber time. Millions upon millions of lives were lost because of what transpired in Antarctica. Many more were lost in the chaos that followed.

It's only natural that the severity of the occasion is remembered in so equally somber a way. The procession, the mourning clothes so many adopt -- even the subdued conversation of varying levels of gravity that is taking place between that growing crowd just above the procession.

It's only natural.

But it's also only natural that people process loss in different ways. Some call for quiet reflection. Others, well--

                        "I've~ found~ you~~~~~!"

Others have... different ways.

The shadow can be seen before the voice. How a shadow manages to cast on an overpass bridge in such a way that in completely obscures exactly one person in silhouette save for the ominous glint of glasses is an open question.

What's more relevant is it is directly behind Asuka Langley Shikinami and she has exactly one second to react before--

"Yoho~!"

Mari Makinami Illustrious makes herself known, flinging herself onto Asuka from behind, arms aiming to go 'round the Second Child's neck like the inescapably affectionate coils of an anaconda. The end result will see Mari half-draping on Asuka; dressed in her school uniform (that doesn't even look like the Tokyo-3 municipal -high school- uniform, just what school does that belong to) the dubiously-elected Student Council President is smiling big as a cheshire cat as she hangs off Asuka, but the one she's looking at is actually--

"You can't escape me today, Tabby Cat," she announces to Kaworu Nagisa, firmly. Inescapably. A gift bag she holds in her right hand jostles as she gestures at the Fifth Child.

if her target is kaworu then why is she surprise attacking asuka

The world may never know.

It's only then that she looks around her; her smile tempers towards a smaller, more thoughtful thing, as she absorbs all the people here -- and, perhaps, the thing they're talking about. Her eyes lid, a little, "oho~" escaping her lips as Alouette theorizes on the motives of the Angels.

"You know," she begins, conversationally, still leisurely hanging off Asuka, "the original meaning of the word 'angel' was 'messenger.' Who knows? Maybe that's why we call them Angels! But if that's the case, then... what message are they trying to send us, I wonder?"

She, notably, does not answer C.C.'s question; the odds of her having not -heard- said question are fairly slim considering she's looking directly -at- C.C. with a stare of thoughtful-if-lazy interest, but she lapses into silence all the same.

As if that were a question best left to the others to answer.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        What's wrong with sounding like Asuka?
        
        "Nothing," Shinji tells Asuka. There isn't a trace of defensiveness; that small tug of a smile is back. Alouette's reassurance helps; she'll see his shoulders relax in response.
        
        Well. There are some things. But those aren't Asuka's fault, in his mind.
        
        Asking Rei wasn't as bad as he feared it would be, at least. Asuka looks annoyed, but... probably no more annoyed than usual? And Rei weighs in a lot more than expected. It's quite insightful, really. Shinji's gaze turns up towards the heavens.
        
        "They wouldn't be called Angels... But we're the ones who call them that," he muses. "I wonder what they call themselves..."
        
        Kaworu's smile warms, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he watches Shinji. A breath of a chuckle escapes his throat as he looks over at C.C., shrugging a bit. ("'Today'?" Shinji echoes, befuddled.) "It's very familiar. But it's never exactly the same. And it's always in good company." Kaworu gazes at Shinji, then again at 'Cetra.' "This is a time that binds us, after all."
        
        Shinji looks between Kaworu and C.C. for a moment, confused. Then: "Oh. You're a friend of Kaworu-kun's," he realizes aloud, as if that explains everything. And really, it sort of does.
        
        Studying Angels is a lethal proposition... Shinji thinks Asuka has a point there, but Chloe chimes in that scientists are studying this very thing, including the Meteora that her hometown has to deal with--not that he knows much about Meteora, but he understands they're sort of Angel-like in some respect. "Mm... But we're not all just pilots. NERV has an entire R&D division dedicated to studying Angels--it's part of Ritsuko-san's job." He glances over at Kaworu. "But it's part of your job too, isn't it?"
        
        "Yes," Kaworu replies. "But I find I'm more often caught up in administrative duties."
        
        "Oh..." Momentarily crestfallen, Shinji recovers a bit as Yuka weighs in. "Fanatical..." Shinji echoes. "I guess it makes sense that we'd call them Angels, then. Or--whoever coined the term did." If nothing else, Shinji isn't on the same wavelength as Gendo; he doesn't see her input as treason at all. "That makes sense, though... Angels are all so different, even from each other." He offers Yuka and Kaworu a smile. "I hope you both figure something out someday."
        
        Shinji perks further when Guy arrives and makes his own point. "Right?" Rikka gets a nod. "Definitely not. Though I guess I do know some things. I know that..." He hesitates for what might be a telling second for those in the know. "...that they keep coming to Tokyo-3," he concludes. "But they don't seem like they're just mindless killing machines. At least, after Duma, they don't anymore." Rikka weighs in more, and Shinji nods firmly. "Exactly! That's what I'm wondering!"
        
        ...though technically, he realizes as he thinks about it, he does know more than he'd assumed. Alouette talking about why the Angels might target the Geofront gets him to scratch his cheek too, and he glances at Kaworu again, thinking of what's in his father's basement. Is that why he's not weighing in so much...?
        
        Then C.C. directs a question to Shinji and his fellow Evangelion pilots. His earlier confusion returns and redoubles. "What? I don't understand a word you're saying."
        
        "Ten and ten," Kaworu says. "For Shinji-kun."
        
        Shinji double-takes. "Ten what?!"
        
        If Kaworu was going to explain, that explanation never comes. Why?
        
        Because it's Mari Time.
        
        As the Undesignated Child leaps onto Asuka, Shinji yelps and Kaworu laughs. "Only today?" Kaworu wonders, amusement sparkling in his red eyes.
        
        Shinji's gaze goes down to the gift bag in Mari's hand, though. He of course knows why she has it, but--Kaworu said before he doesn't like this day. He was planning to make the later celebration quiet and personal, but... if Mari's already made a spectacle, maybe he should say something after all?
        
        "There is no one message anymore," Kaworu meanwhile says to Mari. "It is, instead, a conversation."
        
        Maybe more like an argument. But that much, he doesn't specify.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        "...It was a liminal place, back then," Liam says, to Yuka, as he edges away from C.C. Something about her feels weird in a way he can't place, and it's more than just the obvious alias, or the weird dress, or the fact that he's seen her before, in Paradigm. Liam's face twists as she talks about Guy, and the Eva pilots, and he's too eager to talk about something that's not that.

        "Exactly," Liam says. "We can't fight them off forever. Sahaquiel would've been like... another Sydney, in the middle of Japan, if it succeeded. We can't afford not to think of the long term--"

        Mari happens. Liam feels simultaneously worried and relieved. "It's Hebrew, right? Malakh?"

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


Rei's answer, Asuka listens to it, and snorts initially at her evaluation, even if it's accurate, but the rest?

She can't even really find fault in it.

Guy notes his opinion, relating them to the Zonders, "Sure, patterns. But Zonders had the four Machine Kings right? They had an intelligence behind them. Can't really say the same about Angels."

Alouette's giggle, she looks away at first, but hearing her response, she doesn't say anything as well... she knows why they want it. When she asks what secrets it holds, she tries her hardest not to look her way. "Who knows?"

She eyes Shinji suspiciously at the 'Nothing' as if thinking it's a cop out, before she listens to Chloe's answer, she nods again in agreement, "Exactly. I've got a degree, but I'd never pretend to be on Doctor Akagi's level for her field. Our role is to fight."

C.C.'s cadence in tone and irreverent way of speaking to Guy earns a raised eyebrow, and crossed arms, "Acquaintance of yours?" She asks Kaworu after C.C. basically confirms it, "A real weirdo, is she part of Ashford's occult club or something?"

Yet, as Rei answers 'Seven' and Kaworu answers 'Ten and Ten for Shinji' Asuka's eyes shoot over to her, then him one by one. Then they look at C.C. head on, as she states... with an edge...

"Ze-

'I've~ found~ you~~~~~!'

-ro?"

'Yoho~!'

Asuka had a full second to respond, and she wasted it, finishing the word upon her lips, like a sucker. As Mari then coils around her, arms curling as she hangs off of her.

Looking back at her in annoyance, but making no real move to throw her off, Asuka says, "Of course that'd be the moment a Catty Four Eyes like you would find us."

Still she's not throwing her off or anything this time, is she, which is wise as the last time she got ambushed that hard and reflexively reacted the two ended up in a pile on the floor.

"'He' can't escape you." Asuka grumbles at her saying that while clinging onto her.

Then Mari raises a question and...

"'Die.'?" Asuka suggests is, perhaps the message. Well. There is an Angel of Death after all. Perhaps by painting the city red with Core Fluid it will pass over.

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        One of C.C.'s fingertips trails a line along the air - miming a writing down of some sort of note.

        "First Child, Apotheosis Score - Seven. Sure and certain - or is that simply saying whatever first comes to mind? That, in and of itself, can be seen as a sign of transcendance. Ah, and we've met before, haven't we. Rei-chan. Actually, even if you said it purely in jest, or to get me out of your hair - that's probably a pretty good self-estimate.

        "Second Child, Apotheosis Score - Zero. Ah, but of course. You can't help but remain human despite everything. You practically boil over the rim of the pot with it. Hmmm. Do you feel pressured to ascend? You really don't need to. Whether you do or not is just a matter of your personal biases."

        "Third Child, Apotheosis Score - Ten (Exterally Ascribed). Saa, I get the impression you wouldn't agree yourself, but for a child like you...do I even need to say that Kaworu's appraisal is something I'll take very close to heart, regardless of what you may say? I'm more than used to dealing with people who'd deny their own latent potential."

        "And then there's...you."

        The deep, intent stare Mari asserts onto C.C. is returned equally. Regardless of the noises in the external world, there is a deep sense of quiet stern-ness for just a moment as they lock eyes. Superficial reasons, such as enjoying the sight of each others' eyes? Unfathomably deep reasons, such as grasping a truth behind the self far beyond the rationalization of an 'ordinary' person?

        "Zeroth Child, Apotheosis Score - Indeterminate. Hehe. That's you alright. Of course. Trying to place you on something as simple as a 'numerical score' is just about as grave an insult to a person like you as there is. Don't think anything of it."

        "It's just a little game I'm playing with these untested youths.~"

        "Cetra" sure has gotten what she wanted - she can even crack Mari a smug little smirk, which likely just escalates that deeply - 'what the heck is her problem' aura Alouette and Liam rightly feel.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka looks toward Alouette consideringly. The possibility that this became NERV's base of operations because it was where the Angels attack and not the other way around... it's worth a thought. She nods, though, as Alouette agrees with her, and Shinji's wondering the same thing. And then there's Yuka, who has a lot to say on the subject. She's always been pretty knowledgeable so when she starts talking, Rikka starts listening.

"I see..." Rikka considers thoughtfully. "That's true. I guess they've all been pretty different..."

And Shinji wonders what they call themselves... Things are pretty complicated. Also complicating matters - the sudden arrival of Mari, latching onto Asuka. ...The tone of the day has been so serious, it's pretty hard for Rikka to stifle the resulting laugh.

But she does raise a good point. If Angel means 'messenger', what message are they bringing? And Kaworu calls it a conversation...

"...I can't say you're wrong..." Rikka admits with a shrug as Asuka makes a suggestion. "If that's not the message they want to send, they need to get better at communicating."

Her attention turns toward Cetra as she judges all the Children, then, but honestly...

"...I'm a little lost with her." Rikka admits quietly as an aside. 

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Rei's eyes turn to Yuka as she raises the question of intelligence and reasoning. Can you apply such a concept to others? Something as Other as an Angel? She does bring up the topic of kaiju's similarities. Rei considers what she says.

Shinji says something. Rei's eyes turn towards C2 again afterwards, as if seeing her in a different sort of light. A subtle one. Her hands seem to disappear into the sleeves of her sweater, at this point; she tugs them down a bit, the cream-white yarn expanding obligingly.

The Second has useful insights. Annoying and repellent she may be in many ways, Rei can respect her insight into their enemy. (The enemy is not Mari... hopefully, anyway.) Her eyes turn towards C2 as she assess their estimates. When C2 speaks to her, or of her, or both, Rei shrugs up her sweater a little.

"Maybe the master has yet to reveal themselves."

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette listens carefully when Yuka speaks. A kaiju expert... her words are valuable. "Harmony... it's worth striving for. But if we have to fight... it's really no different from dealing with fanatical humans who refuse to listen to reason."

Mari, in all of her Catty Four-Eyedness, brings up the meaning of 'Angel' as messenger; Kaworu likens it to more of a 'conversation'. "A conversation... it's worth considering. Duma certainly resulted in that, whether it was intended or not."

But Asuka bringing up the Four Machine Kings - the intelligence behind the Zonder also gets a pondering look. "And behind the Four Machine Kings the Primevals, an emotional regulation system gone terribly wrong. We still don't even know where the Angels come from in the first place... how can we be sure there's no intelligence behind them? They may not understand human emotion, but they sure do have tactics. As Liam pointed out, we just repelled one that emulated a Colony Drop."

C.C. continues to speak like she's not even in this world. Apotheosis score...? Potential, latent ability, synchronization. It makes some degree of sense. But there's seriously no tact behind her words, and she only knows to speak 'at' people. Annoying, is Alouette's final conclusion of the witch.

"No kidding... NERV brings out some weird people." Alouette shrugs at Rikka's aside. 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

'He' can't escape you, understandably grumbles Asuka.

"Always," is Mari's swift response - seemingly to Kaworu - her smile dazzling, "But only if you want to be found! I am excellent at seeing things and people that want to be seen, deep down inside."

She preens here, proudly. She may subtly squeeze her arms around Asuka at this point too as if to indicate her answer has SOMETHING to do with Asuka's own complaint. But what could it be...

"It's one of my many meowvelous qualities~."

Be she ever-so-humble.

Perhaps surprisingly, beyond its presence, Mari doesn't really make mention of her gift bag. It might heighten the mystery for some, but she seems to avoid direct spectacle about it; instead, her attention shifts towards Liam, a pleased, cattish curl to her lips at his question.

"A gold star for Soldier Boy~" croons Mari in a way that could be easily construed as teasing if it weren't for the warm sincerity contradicting it. "That's right! And the tradition continued into the Greek. Of course, Tabby Cat's right; things have probably progressed far beyond a message. But whether it's a conversation or a debate, there needs to be a premise! And the message behind that premise needs to be accepted, or rejected. And for that, it needs to be understood."

Mari's wrists turn - one beneath the straps of her bag - to present her hands, palms up. Her head tilts, both towards Asuka, and towards Rikka, as one describes a very simple, very obvious message, and the other speaks on Angels needing to be understood.

"A one-sided conversation isn't much of a conversation."

It's then that C.C. speaks, and that bespectacled stare doesn't stray from the green-haired woman for a second as she assesses Rei, Asuka and Shinji in turn. It's when her attention turns to Asuka that Mari's expression grows more thoughtful. The way C.C. assesses Asuka -- anyone who knows the Second Child could imagine how she'd react.

Wordless is the way Mari squeezes her arms around Asuka, one more time, for very different reasons, before that lens is focused on her.

"Of course," she asserts, simply. "I'm just the illustrious Mari!" She seems quite content with that, in fact. "One thing, though... it'd be a mistake to think 'transcending' to anything means giving up one's humanity." Her head tilts Guy's way.

"There's no one more human than our amazing Mister Hero here." A second passes by.

"And there's no quality more important to have."

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


Mari does one of her signature cat puns, and Asuka clucks her tongue, "Zero points." She rules upon it.

"And if it is, they're very good at getting it across." She tells Rikka in reply on Angels, before Mari rules on the subject, "... Definitely doesn't leave any real way to reply back, other than meeting them in kind."

Rei does mention that maybe the Master has yet to reveal themselves, a point that Alouette makes too, "If there is one, then it's real incompetent." She suggests, "The Angels have a difficult time adapting their tactics out there. Each has a lot of power, sure, and they use it well - to brute force things. But if they had any kind of intelligence, then why attack one at a time? Why not utilize their powers more strategically?"

C.C. speaks of the Apotheosis, of remaining human for Asuka. And Asuka's teeth grind against each other so hard one might think she'd chip one.

She certainly didn't say it because she thought she was human. She said it because she never thought she was one to begin with. Mari's arms squeeze around her, which perhaps...

... silently deescalates the matter before she'd get to action. Going from the possibility of violence to looking that much more irritated in no time flat, "Shows what you know." She mutters, not looking at her evaluator any longer.

But then Mari says something, unexpected herself about her own evaluation - but Asuka doesn't glance back until she's speaking of Guy. Mari will catch the corner of a blue eye looking at her.

Does she agree? Perhaps - at least for Guy. After all, he was human to start.

"Yeah?" Asuka questions her, as if actually asking the question of humanity being that important...

"I would have said 'punctuality'. You missed the role call at our six Council meetings."

But... no.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        "I guess that's true," Shinji admits when Asuka points out that Ritsuko is quite a few levels above them when it comes to her job. If the best of the best is already on the job, then maybe Asuka's right, and it's better if they just focus on piloting. "You always make everything sound so straightforward and simple," he muses. (It's a compliment.)
        
        C.C.'s strange assessment brings color to Shinji's cheeks. He glances again at Kaworu; Kaworu gives him a warm smile back. As little as he understands what 'Cetra' is saying, he at least gets that Kaworu is awarding him top marks. Of course Rei would be high too, but... why is Asuka assessing herself a zero?
        
        (Perhaps because it's the number closest to infinity--)
        
        It's all very much over his head, but he finds Kaworu's faith in him does make him stand a little taller. To C.C. herself, though, he just says, "If you say so."
        
        Kaworu looks at Asuka; the question of if C.C. is an acquaintance of his seems self-evident, so he doesn't respond to that part. Instead, he replies, "She attends a different sort of club." A little chuckle at Alouette's comment, before he adds, "Rest assured, she's not with NERV."
        
        A conversation... Though Kaworu was the one who said it, Shinji gives Alouette a thoughtful look. "Yeah... For good or bad, people talked a lot about it." Asuka makes a solid point about tactics, and Shinji grimaces. "I'm just glad Duma didn't want to attack us. He was around for a few different Angels. They could've attacked us all at once if they'd wanted to."
        
        "Yes," Kaworu tells Mari--on a variety of topics. But the one he follows up on is: "Even if one isn't understood, it feels good to be heard."
        
        Shinji meanwhile considers Mari's response to Kaworu. Only if he wants to be found, huh... Shinji looks at his friend and considers his smile, and decides to smile too and say, "By the way--happy birthday, Kaworu-kun." 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        Liam blinks, but this momentary worry gives way to a smile at Mari's praise. "The Bible's got angels of all sorts," he says. "Some look like humans, others are wheels of eyes or fire, some have four faces... Not sure when people thought they were just humans with wings. Don't think I ever asked Mom."

        And for a moment, the young man fixates on Mari, like she's a more intelligible version of C.C. over there--someone proposing an honest question, but couching it like it's a mysterious riddle. "We still don't know where they come from," he says. "As far as we know, they're all splinters of an original, but how did that one come to be?"

        A pause. "I think she's one of Kaworu's friends?" he whispers, to Rikka, but this may be no defense against C.C.'s keen ears.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka considers Rei for a moment. The master... that's a thought. She thinks on that for a moment.

"That's a good point..."

It's something to think about, anyway.

"Right?" Rikka whispers back to Alouette. Apparently Cetra isn't NERV... but that's not necessarily wrong, still. Liam does offer a suggestion, though. "...Yeah, seems that way. I think she went to my school for a while, too..."

"They are..." Rikka admits to Asuka. Mari acknowledges her comment. A one-sided conversation isn't much of a conversation... "...Yeah."

Still, 'it feels good to be understood'...

"I guess that's true no matter who or what you are." Rikka considers.

The importance of being human, though, huh...

"That's true." Rikka agrees with a nod at Mari - especially when it comes to Guy.

And in the end, though, Rikka does learn one more valuable piece of information as Shinji wishes Kaworu a happy birthday.

"Oh, today's your birthday...? Then, happy birthday, Kaworu." Rikka offers with a smile.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"No one more human... it's true." She agrees with Mari. It's always been a complicated topic... Guy at least would know she didn't always view herself as such after all. These days, she's come to accept "human" as something very broad.

"Some kind of advance force, maybe?" She suggests to Asuka's counter-response. "Like the Four Machine Kings. There wouldn't be anything left of us after a Third Impact, but if they come from the distant cosmos, then it's not out of the question they have something they want to achieve afterwards. And they think all they need to kickstart it is the Angels." It's mere conjecture, but this is much less a strategy meeting than a regular discussion.

"I'm... not sure I find that much assurance!" She replies to Kaworu, jokingly, in regards to C.C.'s allegiances. "Strange friends aren't unusual for you, though, are they?" She goes with Liam's idea.

More seriously, she nods as Shinji's assessment. "If we had to deal with Duma and another Angel at the same time... we probably wouldn't have made it." She frowns. "At least it means they have slightly different goals in addition to their core one."

Finally, Shinji wishes Kaworu... a happy birthday?! "I... didn't realise your day was today," Alouette looks a little taken aback, seemingly Rikka wasn't aware either. Today of all days... she doesn't mention the sheer cosmic 'coincidence' of that. "Joyeux anniversaire." She offers him, with a slight smile. 

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Rei turns her head, now, and looks out over the bridge. Strategy -- is there a strategy? There are certainly tactics. "It would depend on their goal," she answers Asuka.

'It'd be a mistake to think that transcending to anything means giving up one's humanity.'

Rei reaches up to toy with the guard fence's links for a moment. (Of course there's a guard fence; what if someone were to fall?)

Her eyes turn back towards Kaworu when he says C2 is certainly not with NERV. She looks at C2 again. Suspicion? But of what? Is she going to tattle? It seems that Mari's influence is such that whatever she may be - bean, ultra girl, or doll - she is not a rat.

"Happy Birthday," Rei echoes after Shinji, looking to Kaworu. She almost-smiles, then, turning herself to rest her seat upon the base of the bridge, hands folding in her lap.

"I don't think they are the same as those beings," Rei answers Liam, after a pause. "If they had come in those eras, then there would not be a present era."

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        Something about exactly what Mari says stokes an odd reaction in C.C. - the sort of person whose every action seems somehow whimsical yet diligently intentional.

        'Aptitude for ascension' - without 'losing one's humanity'.

        This may be the first time even Kaworu's seen the witch give an almost organic feeling, long exhale. She loses the staring contest with Mari, big time. Her hands, never once touching the railing she's been using as a seat, finally reach down to clutch tightly onto it, the other one cupping her own face with a careful tenderness, almost like she's afraid of puncturing it with her touch alone.

        "...so that's why I couldn't help but fixate on her. That's exactly what she did..." There's a furtive emphasis C.C. makes, just now, towards Rikka in particular, when before she almost struggled to isolate her from the others. All the sudden, the color she takes is filtered dramatically differently from the rest. It's 'different', maybe because of Rikka's origins, but-

        "...You there. You're the one who's gotten entwined with a most rare potential. ...you're doing a good job protecting her. Good. ...Fate isn't done reaching for Akane. She has something the world itself seems to want."

        A wistful gaze outward, to the lingering vestiges of the mourning festival they all gathered. Then, the witch's head turns...south. The scar of her mistakes.

        "...Anyone would drown in wanting like that, most of all someone who fiercely clutched her prize of becoming a human on her own terms. That includes me, to be honest, but I already made my mistake with someone like that."

        The corner of C.C.'s eye catches onto Kaworu. "...even if some might've called it a miracle." 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

As far as we know, they're all splinters of an original, but how did that one come to be?

"Hmm. Who can say? Maybe it was with intent. Maybe it was all just one grand, cosmic mistake, that we must now tragically bear the burden of!" muses Mari, in the wake of Liam's very pertinent question. One hand even - briefly - abandons Asuka to press against her forehead, as if she might faint, because Mari lives for the drama of the moment.

Eventually, though, that hand falls back on Asuka's shoulder, as Mari lets out a thoughtful "hum".

"Maybe it's just as useful to ask, 'how did people come to be?'"

If Liam is looking for a concrete answer though, Mari doesn't seem the one to provide it; she lets her questions lie as if the point was to -provoke- thought, rather than settle it. Instead, as her Impromptu Staring Contest with C.C. comes to an end, she exhales a little "ufu" in wake of the green-haired woman's musings, her head tilt and expression reflecting nothing but genuine curiosity and interest, tilted both towards C2, and towards Rikka as she addresses her and invokes Akane.

It's something that softens into something else, something more fond, as Asuka speaks; Mari finally looks away to peer at the Second Child who she is currently using as a lounge, affixing that fond look her way, at least until --

I would have said 'punctuality'. You missed the role call at our six Council meetings.

Mari gasps, scandalized!

"You can't blame me for that!" she declares, before she recites, in fluent English, "'To err is human,'" dramatic pause here, "'to forgive, divine.'" Her brows climb. She pouts. -Pouts-.

"So can't my Princess forgive me for my inescapable nature?"

She's a victim of circumstance, you see!

Unfortunately, Asuka might not get much opportunity to react; not long after, Shinji offers that happy birthday to Kaworu, that begins a whole cascade of them. "Oho~" croons Mari. "It seems you've decided to make it official! How bold of you, Puppy Boy." i-isn't she the one who subtly spurred it on-- "Well, in that caaaase--"

And here, Mari pulls away from Asuka at long last, fortunately (?) putting distance between herself and the Second Child by way of a smooth spin. It brings her into a brief detour, facing and finger-gunning Rei with a cluck of her tongue and a "Bingo, Bean-o~!" in praise at the blue-haired girl's assessment, before continuing to spin on...

... until she stops just in front of Kaworu.

"Tabby Cat believes this should be a time for mourning. I think, however, it's more important than ever to celebrate life in all its messy forms."

She lifts the gift bag toward him.

"Happy birthday, Kaworu Nagisa."

And inside is something relatively simple: two books that look very old, but very well-maintained. Thick, with simple covers of gold filigree, and a unified title on the spine.

Sir James George Frazer's The Golden Bough. First Edition.

Given how Mari feels about collecting books, giving up part of her treasured collection has meaning all on its own, beyond whatever this specific one does.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

An advance force... Rikka has to think about that. ...She's not sure she much likes the idea of there being something bigger than the Angels out there, but at the same time, it's better than not being aware of the possibility...

Others wish Kaworu a happy birthday, too. And then Cetra speaks up again - and this time, Rikka gets the feeling she's speaking to her. She does look briefly toward Mari as she looks their way, before looking back at Cetra.

"It's Rikka Takarada." Rikka insists, on being addressed with 'you there'. Entwined... It takes her a second to figure out what she means until she references Akane directly. "That's one way to put it."

She shrugs. There's more in store for Akane, huh...?

"We're both protecting each other. It's not a one-sided relationship. ...But, you don't have to worry. Whatever happens, I'm going to be there to make sure that Akane always has someone by her side." She replies.

...She hesitates a bit as Cetra continues, though, taking a moment to reassess her.

"...Sounds like you've been through something difficult." She decides. "...I'm sorry." 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


"A different sort." Asuka echoes Kaworu, disliking him being cryptic in a way she's half convinced is probably a joke but not complaining save in that way.

All the while Asuka simply accepts Mari's hand upon her shoulder, as Mari muses over the nature of such universal questions. "Feels pointless to me." Asuka tells her, sounding ambivalent about that facet of the subject, "The fact is they're here, and humanity has to respond to them - not wax philosophical about dumb existential questions. Or else find out soon enough they just don't exist."

As the subject becomes, Mari gasping, offers her own line. In the Antithesis of it Asuka simply continues her judgment, "Then you'd better send a message for an Angel to forgive you, because I sure don't."

Brutal! And yet, she isn't shrugging Mari off, is she? No, indeed Mari lets go on her own soon enough...

Shinji announces that it's Kaworu's birthday, and Asuka does not wish him a happy birthday. There is perhaps a sense of understanding in her eyes - while also completely misunderstanding why he was born on this day.

Alouette posits an advance force and, Asuka eyes her, "Maybe." She seems unconvinced, but even if it doesn't seem to fit, it wouldn't shock her if that was the case and NERV already knew something like that.

Mari instead offers him a gift, and Asuka's eyes flick down upon the book. The meaning of the gesture perhaps, doesn't escape her when it comes to Mari giving up a part of her collection.

Crossing her arms, she just waits to check his reaction. Even if how he reacts to the gift isn't very human at all...

... it's probably moreso than she would.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        The First Angel... Shinji nods slowly at Liam. Where that Angel came from, he definitely doesn't know. Same with the Second, really. He just knows where it is and that the Angels are coming for it. He doesn't even really know why. Or why Duma seemed uninterested. Or maybe they were interested, and they just held back? ...It's impossible to know now. To Alouette, he says, "Yeah... It's good for us that he was so different from the other Angels."
        
        Kaworu glances away.
        
        Shinji doesn't notice; he's thinking of Duma's crystallized core and the pilot of that strange wolf-like Evangelion, and for a moment, he scowls.
        
        This, in return, isn't beyond Kaworu's notice--but for the moment, he watches C.C. instead, and her reaction to Mari. The Undesignated Child certainly does have that effect on people, but it's rare indeed to see it on her.
        
        He chuckles at Alouette's comment on C.C. and him. "Not at all," he agrees. Mari and Asuka's closeness and banter is not beyond him either, but at this point, it's a familiar soul refrain. It's hardly worth noting, beyond that Shinji doesn't note any significance to it.
        
        But then Shinji bids him happy birthday, and he blinks over at him--then at Rikka, Rei and her almost-smile so rare in mixed company, Alouette, and the others who bid him happy birthday. (But of course not Asuka.) (Shinji meanwhile looks flustered at Mari calling him bold, but he stands by it. Kaworu deserves to have a happy birthday.) Slowly, a hint of pink on his cheeks, his smile reasserts itself with a richness that isn't usually there.
        
        "Thank you," he says quietly, but entirely heartfelt.
        
        If it nonetheless gains a shade of melancholy as he meets C.C.'s eyes, it's probably just your imagination. It's gone by the time Kaworu accepts Mari's gift bag. He marvels silently at the tomes within--living with Mari, he knows well how much she treasures her book collection.
        
        "I'll be sure to read them with great care, Mary," he replies with affection, and holds them close.
        
        Whether it is a day of sorrow or a day of joy... it has ultimately been well-spent. 

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        A single self-pinch that's almost un noticeable, and C.C. gets her act right back together - swinging around from her perch to finally stand along the walkway like a normal person.

        "As per usual, happy birthday, Kaworu. And I mean that in every sense of the word. Being able to take pride in one's existence is a cherishable gift, so something's been going right somewhere along the way if you've been able to have it."

        Now.

        As far as actual gifts go.

        Isn't that a game, considering the connection these two have - the way they've confided their unique circumstances to each other?

        In an "a long time ago" that would've happened in some unknown tomorrow, someone you could call C.C. made a promise.

        ~( Huh. Of course. Then how about this - a little challenge, if we know each other that well. No matter what or when, if you're even able to keep score of that... )~

        ~( I'm never going to get you the same gift twice. Sounds ridiculous, huh? Impossible, even? That's underestimating me.~ )~

        The other half of the game is making sure she understands that she did, in fact, make this promise. That it appeases a very deep part of her to fulfill, even if she herself never fulfilled it. Usually, she catches onto exactly what she said the first time they met.

        The witch deposits a simple paper gift bag into Kaworu's hands. In it - a spiral-shaped glass ornament that radiates from blue, to silver, to orange at the very tips. While naturally there are many gifts similar to it - C.C. has fulfilled her impossible yet so obviously achievable promise yet once again. It's not a gift Kaworu has yet been given.

        ...After all, all C.C. really has to do is find someone talented and relatively young. A person who could not have possibly existed 'another' time, with their own unique sentiments that could not have been held the same way in the same time. Each gift, a wind made from the butterfly wings.

        She'd never say that her trick is that simple, but it can't really be that hard for Kaworu to figure out. It's her way of silently saying:

        "I hope something new and beautiful has found you in this one."

        A quiet little wave behind herself is all that the rather...otherwise discourteous witch gives to the others before slipping into the crowds.. So awful at making good impressions, prying into personal lives and then leaving mysteriously. 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        Liam has a lot more to think on, now. But there's one thing he still has to do. When things are a bit less crowded, he approaches Kaworu, an envelope in his hand. "Happy Birthday, Kaworu," he says. Inside is a card, of course, and also a small commercial data disk... still in its original packaging, from the music store. It's sheet music, for piano!

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