Natural Enemies

It was hard not to find Millennium City overwhelming. Elia Lucia had been there only a very short time, and already met some very different individuals, people she still wasn't entirely sure what to think about. That was not such a terrible thing; Elia knew to ask the Church for guidance when she returned to Eden's Glory. The Pastor would wish to know of such people, as well. Such matters were not for her to decide upon, merely to note. Still, she had much to think about, as she moved down the sidewalks. It seemed that it would be good, perhaps, to venture within one of the shops, if only to have a moment's peace from the strangeness of this place.

She found herself looking at a storefront, not so different from any other, the name Smith, Inc. commonplace enough that it could have fit in anywhere. The sign below it, though, puzzled her somewhat, and she mused over the concept of monster hunting services and what that could possibly entail.

There seemed to be only one way to find out. Elia still felt a little uncertain about this, but she summoned her courage as a Seraph and pushed the door open, stepping through. In the Divine Appalachian Nation, she would have been recognized instantly as one of the Seraphim by her attire and archaic weaponry. In the strangeness that was Millennium City, no one seemed to know what that meant - and the attire she had seen even in her brief time here had spanned fashion decisions she couldn't possibly have fathomed.

The office itself was not so strange, looking more or less like any number of offices. It contained a young woman, one who looked to be somewhere around Elia's own age - dark haired, not too strangely dressed... and yet, there was something odd about her, something that seemed to go beyond the visual. Elia paused, considering that strange feeling, but it didn't provide any answers, and standing in the doorway wasn't likely to get her any farther anyway. She released the door, letting it close behind her.

Her voice was soft, trained to courtesy, habitually unhurried and marked by the drawling accent of her small home Territory and the states that surrounded it.

"Sorry for just walkin' in, ma'am. I was just wondering what a monster was, around here?"

It seemed like perhaps that was something she ought to know, after all.

"Lucia," the girl supplied the information to complete Kore's inquiry, without hesitation. "Elia Lucia. And no. There's monsters out there, but I'm the one they worry about. The devils do, anyway. Ain't my place to decide about the rest of God's creatures, even if they're doing things they shouldn't." God counseled forgiveness, after all, and things like that were better off handled by the Church and clergy.

She watched the other's motions, listening curiously to the things she said. Elia had naturally assumed that this girl was the secretary here, but the way the young woman spoke, she was much more involved in things than that. When the other's gaze ventured to the sign outside, she ventured: "Is Mr. Smith your husband then?" The other woman had never given a name, after all. It seemed likely from her involvement in things, given everything she had said.

Elia supposed that it wasn't so strange that the rest of the United States must have something to deal with the problems that occurred, although it didn't sound like this one had much oversight from the Church. She had been warned that things were likely to be different - and knowledge of how different they were and how things worked outside of the Divine Appalachian Nation was one of the things that the Clergy was particularly interested in.

Perhaps God had led her to this place, and this young woman. She seemed willing to answer questions, after all - even ones that might be somewhat strange.

Something seemed to have gone oddly there, but Elia wasn't entirely sure what it was. Her concern over social graces was pushed aside a mere moment later, when a softly glowing aura enveloped the young woman. That, in and of itself, answered many questions. As such, it was a little easier to follow why this Ms. Smith was managing on her own. The title itself was odd to her ears, though, not being one that was in use in the Appalachian Nation. As such, her correction: "It's 'Miss' Lucia," was habitual and instantaneous. There was no Ms where she was from - it was Miss or Mrs. Elia hadn't put much thought into it, but she found almost immediately that she did not care to be addressed as Ms.

But Ms. Smith did, evidently, and that - and this were her business, or so it seemed.

"And I apologize, Miss- Ms Smith. I didn't realize y'all were-" A definite hesitance there, as Minister Ford had cautioned her about not throwing around phrases like God-touched out here - just like she was being cautious and not throwing around titles like Seraph. It might have been more accurate than 'miss,' but the Divine Appalachia Nation didn't want too much attention. She was here to bring back information, not bring back an inquest. None of that information finished the sentence she had started, and after a moment's faltering, she resolved it with, "Ah, special, I suppose."

She moved away from the window, picking up the small card off of the desk, glancing it over. Kore. That would be Ms. Smith's name, then. "I don't really need anything. I was just curious what y'all were about." Curious, and fully capable of recognizing a dismissal when she heard one. Elia pocketed the card with a nod, more an acknowledgement of something unspoken than anything else, and she stepped back, towards the door once more. "Seems like it's time for me to go be curious about something else. Afternoon. Ma'am."