Kaze breathed in the sweet smoke, savoring the flavor and silence it generated. Like it was a solemn protocol carried by it. She looked at the cigar and then back at Lukas, that contained a cough. "I do smoke. Not as much I used to. But it is something I enjoy. Not only the taste, but the reminder that good can emerge from the bad."
Placing the cigar on the edge of the table, she leaned forward and eyed Lukas seriously. "You are a man of loyalties. If they are ones that swing according to the wind, I am yet to see. You are however.." She picked up the cigar again and took a small smoke. "A man of belief. Strong belief. The single most powerful facet people like us can have. And in my view.." Her right eye glinted green for a moment in the light. "That is the moving force in the universe."
A small screen in the exo suit forearm lit up. Kaze was quickly to look and to type a three sentence reply, with the smoke exiting her nostrils. Her eyes moved again on Lukas. "Apologies. The more you extend your network, the more available one must be."
He would keep the cigar in his hands, having gotten used to the smoky but sweet taste of it, it felt oddly calming. Normally he hated vices, but this was a vice for an occasion and not something he'd do often or out of impulse. A generous offer couldn't be disrespected. "It's.. strangely calming, the cigar I mean."
After she finished her next series of sentences, all of which he'd be patient with, waiting for her to finish before he fully contemplated her every word, making sure his words were clear before he said them, not wanting them to come out incorrectly given his current fatigue. "You aren't wrong, I believe very strongly in what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. It's all I have. And if anything, I've realized that it's important to stay true to your beliefs and to fight for them, not for people, but the reasons."
Completing his sentence with another puff of smoke, he was partially tempted to puff a ring like how Silver had done. But he decided against it because he would most likely look stupid trying and failing.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
She started to remove her right armored glove, showing a hand, a real hand. Yet it was truly covered in mimetic nanites having the appearance, warmth and texture of real skin. Flexing the hand, the nanites cleared out and the hand true form appeared. Metallic. Black. Kaze looked at it and then looked at Lukas. "Be prepared to lose self due to that belief. Not only body parts or augmentations, no." She pointed her metallic finger at Lukas. "Prepare to lose that belief as well. Your own identity. The things that made you who you are and who you will be."
Her other hand grabbed the cigar and took a small smoke. "What you hold dear, that is the only thing that will carry you at the end of it all. Be it memories. Be it friends. Be it love. And you will lose them all as well." The bionic hand started to scratch the table, moving with human grace, not like the machine it was.
Kaze then got up and presented her bionic hand in greeting. "You want a teacher. Guidance. You want to hunt down monsters. Here I am. A monster that hunts monsters." That dark cold hand was waiting. "Kaze Nelson Reidman Dagon."
Seeing her reach out, he'd hesitate for a moment before returning the gesture and shaking her hand politely. "A pleasure Frau Dagon. You already know my name and everything else about me, so I won't bother echoing what's obvious."
This meeting felt notably more pleasant than the last one with Silver, though she'd make out that he was visibly struggling with keeping his eyes open. "Don't misunderstand me. I'm very tired, it's a little hard to have in-depth discussions right now. If there's anything significant we need to talk about, I'd prefer we spoke about them another time."
He seemed to take pulls from the cigar roughly the same time as she was, just enjoying the gaps of silence as they let his mind rest. Though he couldn't help it occasionally wandering, daydreaming about a pair of light brown eyes.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
She sat, nodding. "I do understand. The Omicrons are quite the long way. The main point of this is to be the first step. And to draw lines." The cigar lit up, as she inhaled. "Under no circumstance we are to divulge any kind of information that may lead to our real persona's. Basically, I am Xei. And you are Krsnik. The end. If we don't know each other, the better."
The smoke rose to the ceiling. "If you find yourself in need, ask. And tell for what it is. Same for me, for it might hurt an objective or an asset that we may not yet see." Nanites began to cover her bionic hand and in less than a second, the hand looked like a real one.
Her eyes tracked Luka's ones. "And lastly.." She got up from her chair, cigar in her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lukas. Now some rest seems to be in order, yes?"
He snapped out of his impromptu and mild trance, brought back to the present, the pair of eyes he was picturing fading from his thoughts for now. "Agreed. I'll.. contact a friend, I don't think I'd be able to fly back to New Moscow like this."
He pulled out his communicator, prepared to contact Kira even if it was a little late, hoping she'd be able to help him, that way he was dealing with someone he trusted and not third parties.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
Kaze rose an eyebrow. He was being careless. Before he could start his call, in front of her, Kaze coughed, summoning his attention. "If I may, a female advice." She looked at the half-sleeping man, by now.
He looked at her, curious what she was going to offer him in the way of advice, he actually wanted to call Kira outside the bar, but the thought of getting up unless it was to find a place to sleep wasn't something his body could entertain."And what would that be?"
Retrieving his helmet, he stood up to get ready to leave with a slight groan, only waiting for this supposed advice now.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
Her helmet started to rise from the collar of her exo-suit. "Clean yourself. The cigar leaves a strong odor." Putting on her armored glove into her right hand, she looked at Lukas. "And what little I could find about Ms. Bom-Sol from the bartender, is that she left Crete on her own volition. Showing up at door smelling like that..." She shook her head in a negative fashion and raised her hand towards the exit. "Shall we?"
He thought her words over for a moment, admitting that she was correct with a nod, actually finding her advice useful "I'll stop by the bathroom on the way and wash up a little.. Thank you. I'm not.. good with people, let alone people that have an interest in me. But she's different. I've never been scared of my impression. Why am I telling you any of this?"
If she moved to leave, then he'd follow her out, assuming they were going to leave together and then go their separate ways. He appreciated the fact that she actually willingly gave him advice that would benefit his situation, in that way, she'd made a positive impression on him.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
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