He took the plate with a slanted smile.  Something not quite joyful, but not quite sardonic either.  "You'd make a fantastic superhero,"  He said, trying on a bit of levity.  "Spandex, cape and all."  He finally relented to the rumblings of his stomach, and served himself some of the fantastically sweet chicken over some rice.  His smile slipped.  "Gods, I don't know that I'm ready to do the council thing."  He admitted.  "At least with the DMS, I get to blast my problems.  Bureaucracy is a different monster entirely."<br/><br/>Casey sat himself, though he didn't tuck into the food just yet.  His jaw flexed, as if chewing over a thought.<br/><br/>"This all feels...  Like we're refugees, or something.  Adrift at sea, with only hope and luck to carry us to safe harbor.  Nothing sure."  He speared a bit of chicken on his fork.  He'd never managed to master chopsticks.  "But we'll make it through."  He said.  He wished he didn't sound quite so much like he was trying to convince himself.