Aki could relate. Before her life had been upended by Paladins and other worlds and magic, she was just an ordinary girl. Back on earth, she thought she knew where she stood, literally and figuratively. Now, she could say she had set foot in three worlds, and she had no idea what other curveballs the multiverse had in store for her. She could telekinetically move metal now, Jesus Christ. If that didn’t make a person revise her belief system even a little bit, she didn’t know what would. What Hortence said about Rafaela, though, both saddened her and sent a chill through her. Akira had imagined—a bit naively, she had to admit now—that if they met other Paladins, they would all be on the same side. She was lucky that Kire had rescued her, after all. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that worst-case scenario.<br/><br/>Hortence’s hand on her shoulder distracted her from that momentary wave of disillusionment. Aki gave her a weak smile in response.<span style="font-style: italic">But what if I don’t</span>want<span style="font-style: italic">to become a fighter?</span>Before she could dwell on that thought, though, the older Paladin hoisted her up, bridal-style. “What the—where are we going?” Akira gulped. She didn’t even have time to scream when Hortence launched them both off the rooftop. Aki’s stomach lurched as they fell through the next roof. “Motherfu—<span style="font-style: italic">don’t do that!</span>” she whined, pushing Hortence away as she gasped for breath. Either she was just being paranoid, or her ribs were complaining from the fall. Most of the force of the impact was absorbed by Hortence, apparently, but still.<br/><br/>Headquarters of the Crimson Rose, Hortence had called it, but Aki couldn’t exactly associate the name with the look of the place. It was a workshop of some sort, relatively neat compared to the other rooms she could spot beyond the doors. Akira flinched when she saw the rat run by, clamping her hands to her mouth. She almost tripped on a mattress lying on the ground. .<span style="font-style: italic">Get a grip, Aki.</span>So what if it wasn’t exactly the kind of headquarters she would imagine a Paladin had? As much as she wanted to deny that living in a Palace for four years hadn’t changed her, it definitely made her forget that life wasn’t always so comfortable. She wanted an adventure? Well, this was it. Rats and shit included. Time to step out of the fantasy.<br/><br/>She was about to comment how “nice” Hortence’s place is when another woman entered the scene and completely derailed Aki’s train of thought. Gaping, she watched the woman in the green dress embraced the Paladin, then kissed her. Aki’s cheeks felt hot. Well, rats and shit and impromptu make-out sessions. “Uh…” Aki cleared her throat loudly. “Er—I will leave you to it, then.” She turned away abruptly. Was that another thing she would have to get used to seeing a lot of? Even in her “old life”, she didn’t really hang around people who sucked face in front of her; it was something she made sure to avoid, come to think of it.<br/><br/>The purpose behind the machines were lost to her. Man, she felt like a monkey confronted with a computer. They looked monolithic, ancient, deadly. Glumly, she pondered on the possibility of someone like Hortence intending to do harm for the sake of her ideals. Wouldn’t be the first time anybody had good intentions for blowing a place up. But, innocent until proven guilty. Aki raised her hand to bring her open palm close to one of the machines, not to touch it, but to see if she could get a sense of how it worked. Sometime after she had first received the ring, she noticed how she had begun to be hypersensitive towards certain things. Kire is one thing; she could feel the Ring’s energies surging through her muscles every time she used it to augment her strength. She could feel those same energies coursing through her veins, too, when she summoned her first portal. Her fingers crackled the first time she made her dagger move with a mental nudge, like the object was a magnet and there were iron fillings underneath her skin. It was amazing.<br/><br/>“So,” she said aloud, “what is the ‘Crimson Rose’, anyway? What do you do with these machines?” She was almost afraid to look in their direction and see them still kissing, or worse. “Do you do the Robin Hood thing then with a group of merry men, or women? And what do you know about those demons we fought?” Her concentration momentarily forgotten, she had pressed her palm to the machine. She must have touched something important, because the mechanical pillar suddenly began to hum. “Oops. Uh. Okay.” Aki stepped back quickly, hands raised in front of her to attempt to mentally shield herself from the metal. Honestly, though, she wouldn’t know if she could stop it if it exploded.