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Frontier Town Greenbough Empirical Orchards

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And yet, despite being on the lookout for said Silvally, Ghaspius couldn't help but let out a light gasp at his voice. "Oh, ya spooked me," he said, trying to force a chuckle, "Almost blended in with some of the berries there!"

He cleared his his throat. "Betele...huh? Oh, I wouldn't want to bother Betel for somethin' like this," he began at first, easing into his usual habits before pausing. He needed to listen and focus. "Oh, uh, yeah, 'suppose that would've been easily lost, huh?"

The Mismagius held a silence for just a second too long. "I uh, wanted to apologize to ya. For awhile back," he said, twiddling with his basket for a bit. "When I judged ya for the roughness before. Guess I shoulda asked what was up like a comrade should've, huh?"

He returned a meek smile. "It looks like you're seein' better days now, at least. That was some proud work back there in the lab."
 
"Telephone." Nova stopped walking and went up on his haunches. He pantomimed talking with his chitinous talons. "It's like, y'know, telepathy between two people over a great distance. And it shares syllable with 'Betel' so I thought I'd..."

His voice trailed off. This was entirely too much effort to explain cheesy wordplay.

"Err, never mind." He shook his head out. "And, uh, thanks? But wait, you weren't in my group." Nova looked down at muttered, "Were you?"
 
"Why wouldn't ya just call it telepathy then?" Ghaspius mumbled aloud with the slight tilt of his head. "I... like the wordplay!" He offered as a token compliment.

"Well, no, I was help takin' out the admins, but y'all did manage to get that Lovrina gal, didn't you? So I mean, that's proof ain't it?"

The Mismagius provided a small smile. "Snazzy coloring, by the way. And ya look nice with the mask off." He coughed. "Aesthetically, I mean."
 
Right. The other admins... now down a member, thanks to Alexander.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Nova's red tail wagged slightly. "The red changes colors. Based on my type. Lovrina had the disks Ark was meant to use to change their type. Had the Covenant not been... foolish."

There were more colorful words Nova could've used, but chose not to.
 
"Really now? How 'bout that," Ghaspius remarked with a curious hum. "You're like that Floragato. The one with the boots I mean. 'Cept ya need disks instead."

He plucked an Oran from the vine and inspected it. "Right, the Covenant. Y'all said they tried to... build your species?" Satisfied, he offered it to the Silvally. "So does that mean all of y'all are artificial, then?"
 
"Not tried. Succeeded, for the most part." Nova sniffed the berry. Orans were basic, but he was hungry. He took it in his beak and essentially ate it in one bite. "I can't speak for... all the worlds out there. But Ark and I were built by other people."

He shrugged. "Maybe there's some world out there where I'm made with magic instead of tech. But any sufficiently advanced science is practically indistinguishable from magic."
 
Ghaspius retracted his tassel with momentary hesitation. "You're gonna have to forgive me for askin' then, but if Cipher built Ark, then... who built you?" His brow furrowed. "Is that offensive to ask?"

His gems gleamed at Nova's next statement. "Magic is a science," he insisted with a bit more force than he perhaps intended, "Just a different kinda science." His bandolier of concoctions clanged as he shuffled in place.
 
"Wouldn't it be better to say they're both art?" Nova's cheek bolts turned. "People call it 'the art of science' and the 'art of magic.' Also, Cipher didn't make Ark. Covenant did. Lovrina just... modified Ark to produce shadows."
 
Ghaspius's hat slid down his face for a spell, but his smile widened. "I'll accept that," he said, pushing it back up as his gaze became visible once more. "And, right, got my dubious-human-organizations-that-dabble-in-taboo-and-start-with-C mixed up."

His eyes wandered back to his basket. "Guess that sorta gets into what I was gonna ask ya about. How comfortable are ya with sharin' a bit of your history?" He sifted through his harvest as he continued talking. "If more humans are gonna be showin' up, it'd be good to know if they're friend or foe. And sides, I wanted to get to know ya more. Sorry again for judgin' earlier when ya had that helmet on."

He offered a Cheri, Chesto, Pecha, Rawst, and Aspear. "Got a flavor preference?"
 
Nova sniffed at the berry arrangement before taking the pecha. It had a very smooth texture and was already a bit sweet against his tongue. "'m shtill learning flavorsh." He gobbled the berry down before continuing. "The mask back home had no hatches or anything and everything here tasted musty. So, y'know, smells and tastes are kinda new for me.

"Thing is I've... kinda been trying not to talk about this stuff anymore." Nova sighed. "Not looking to dump this stuff on any more Wayfarers than I foolishly have. But I guess if you're really curious..."

His voice trailed off. He looked up at the desert sky. "I guess I'd have to ask if your field of science believes in reincarnation."
 
"Really now? Oh, then by all means, help yourself!" Ghaspius practically shoved the rest of the berries in his face, a bit over-eager. "I've got a few candle scents and some incense as well if you wanted to explore more of that, oh, and..."

He clammed up as Nova continued. Letting out an exhale, he offered a smile. "It ain't dumpin' if someone's askin'," he said before following his gaze upward. "I mean, I ain't never been dead, but some of the ghosties back home used to be. That count?"

The Mismagius looked back down. "Though if you're askin' if it could happen from and to any species, ain't no evidence one way or the other. Guessin' it's just fact where you're from?"
 
"Not... entirely," Nova said. "Only for... a few people. Like me." He eyed the berries but didn't go for any of them. "Do those ghosts remember what their old life was like?"
 
Ghaspius pocketed the berries back into his basket as he gestured to walk and talk. "Most don't, but there's two ways they could," he said as he began floating towards another section of the orchard, "Either they've got a will so strong that their unfinished business bleeds into their next life, or they find somethin' they left behind. It's a lot foggier in the latter, from what I've been told."

His golden gaze scanned the garden as he tried to find some sweeter fruit. He failed to realize he already passed by the Watmel patches. "Guess if ya built the species though, ya could theoretically transfer memories over. That what happen to you?"
 
"Also no." Nova said. "I was... a chimera before. And ended up in a very similar body. Blissfully ignorant... until I was forced to remember by the guy who made me a shadow 'mon back home."
 
Ghaspius stopped in place. His gaze fell to the floor. "I... imagine seein' what happened to Ark then must've felt personal." He slowly turned around. "Ya ever get back at the guy?"
 
Ghaspius opened his mouth to immediate protest, but slowly closed it as the details settled in. No matter what happened here, these were new bodies, to be forgotten the next time around. "Is that why ya talked so much about 'fate' back then?" He wondered aloud more to himself than anything.

Without thinking, he plucked one of the nearby Pechas and crushed it in his grip. The noise snapped him out of his stupor. As he inspected his now soaked tassel, he said, "How much do ya believe in souls, and imprinting?" He tried to shake off some of the juices, though some of it clung on. "Ya know freedom in the here and now. When you come home, some of those instincts might remain, even if the exact memories don't."

It was a wild guess, of course. "Was there anyone out there like us? Comrades? Rebels? Anyone you knew that you could trust?"
 
"There was." Nova paused. "Is. I told him to do what's necessary if he came across me." His crest drooped. "Not because I want that to happen. But that's the only way to fight the fate given to me."
 
"Are you sure?" Ghaspius asked as he leaned down to pick up a water pail. "Would you have said the same for Ark, too?" A gentle pour loosened the icky stickiness. "I feel for ya, Nova, and don't get me wrong; it's... it's not an easy situation to get out of by any stretch."

A pensive gazed reached his features, but he turned away as he set the pail back down. "I don't think 'fate' is an end-all-be-all, though. It just gives ya the startin' point for who you're goin' to be."

When he turned around, his usual serene smile returned as he flexed his tassel in and out, satisfied it was freed of the yucky juices. "And what will you do ya plan to do in the now? While you're on Forlas?"
 
"Fate's not a force here," Nova said. "So, I'm free to do what I want. Which is... try to help. Somehow."

His fur bristled. "I wish this world hadn't gotten to a point where this," he gestured to Ghaspius and himself, "wasn't necessary. But it is what it is. So, I'll help how I can."
 
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