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[k0kka]

[The stomping of the creatures into the Gardens puts a knife of pain up through her guts. The crushed flowers and discarded trees are all shrieking from the damage. She doesn't let it get to her, she's been through worse. A century ago the land was worse than just stomped, it was being drained and rotted and desecrated. She'd lost so many of her

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[mnementomori]

Paderau--

[Her small face is pale and bewildered under her hood.]

Just what's going on? You're not going to do anything dangerous, are you?

[k0kka]

I don't know right now, kiddo, but I'm gonna be just fine.

[She doesn't smile, is too focused on where she's headed.]

Just keep your nose clean, and don't do anything rash.

[mnementomori]

But those things--they're trying to ruin the clock tower!

[there's an anxious note to her voice. She doesn't want a repeat of several months ago. Even though Aqua helped her fix it...]

[k0kka]

[She grits her teeth slightly. She would go to Xion, but that's not how this works, she's owed first to the earth they're crushing.]

See if you can lead them away. If they get rough with you, all bets are off though, all right? I'll be there as soon as I can.

[mnementomori]

Lead them away...?

[she takes a deep breath. Her instincts say fight first, but she trusts Paderau's judgement.]

I'll try.

→ action;

[k0kka]

[Paderau spends most of her time slowly coaxing the robots to stop their strange march across the garden, luring them out into an open space. She needs more hands than she's got, needs to keep looking for more 'invaders', needs to stay and protect the robots from the girls, needs to protect their girls from the bots. The sense of being alone is actually pretty suffocating, and while she doesn't let it stop her, it's incredibly painful.

When she feels like things are just quiet enough, she runs to see how Xion is doing at the tower.]

action;

[mnementomori]

[she'd been plastered across the glass doors at first, trying to keep away any visitors intent on breaking them. At Paderau's suggestion, she straightens, and gathering her confidence, waves both arms to get the intruders' attention.]

H-hey! Just--stop, okay! You don't need to break things--

[the only response at first is that the automatons in hearing range pause, chittering among themselves. She keeps waving, taking a cautious step forward. One blocky little thing rolls towards her, extending its own approximations for arms and making a rapid clicking sound.]

[Xion stops, surprised. The robot stops, too, regarding her through the periscope-like appendage extending upwards from the irregular prism of its body.]

Um, hello?

[now that she's got their attention, she backs off a little, patting the doors carefully. Some of the stone has been torn loose from the foundation of the building so far, but at least the stairs are mostly intact.]This place is...special to me. So please don't ruin it...you can come inside and see if you don't

action;

[k0kka]

[She finds a gathering of bots lingering around the clock-tower, a strange little array of them standing in place, looking around and chittering, perhaps trying to decipher just what the girl had meant the sounds she'd made.

They're investigating the crumbling stones thoughtfully, and they're half-way to tugging one of the blocks free when Paderau hurries to stop them. She presses the brick back into place and tells them firmly, "No." But she's more concerned with finding Xion than to make the lesson any clearer than that.

She hears the echoing of footsteps and wheels from the tunnels and follows after her.]

Xion?

action;

[mnementomori]

[the visitors without flight have difficulty climbing onto the platform from the train tracks, so Xion is leaning over on her hands and knees, trying to get their attention from above.]

Hello? Can you hear me?

[she waves at an unseen robot, starting a little when a metal appendage latches on to the lip of the platform next to her. She scoots back out of the way as the owner of the arm hauls itself up.]

H-hey, um--be careful, okay?

[footsteps make her look up, and she brightens at the sight of Paderau.]

You're here! Are you okay?

action;

[k0kka]

[She peers at the little robot curiously.]

Yeah, I'm all right, how're you doin' with them?

[Looks all right, all things considered.]

action;

[mnementomori]

Okay, I think...they're not breaking anything else. With everyone fighting them, I thought they must be dangerous, but they've never attacked me.

action;

[k0kka]

[She sighs.]

Some folks have just got itchy trigger fingers.

action;

[mnementomori]

[that makes her think of Xigbar.]

Will they stop hurting them now that we know they're not bad?

action;

[k0kka]

I hope so.

[She reaches out to give Xion's hair a ruffle, mostly for her own comfort.]

We know they don't mean any harm, so we'll keep an eye on our little group of bots and keep 'em safe until we can get 'em home.

action;

[mnementomori]

[she leans closer to Paderau out of habit, taking comfort in the warden's presence.]

Okay.

[her little dragonfly buzzes in, settling on the climbing 'bot's head. There's a whirring and clicking exchange between them, and then the squat little thing seems to settle down.]