The Wizard's Repose was a fascinating area in Altair--- while it was called a park, it was more of a forest, and its placement within the city of Eos and surrounded by the structures of the academic district was a study in contrasts. It was a refreshing little site, and while Rhyme still liked the rainy caverns of Byzel the best, he favored this verdant sanctuary as well.

He usually visited this place when he visited Altair, and having failed to rouse his slothful friend Iocus from one of his heavy lulls, he supposed he would take some time to think and rest here, in the Repose. With a bag of snacks hanging from his arm, bought from his hard-earned money from various odd jobs, Rhyme was in a good mood. There were many problems with Eos, but one shouldn't always dwell in them. A fretful heart solves nothing--- or at least he was trying to think so. At the very least it seemed there was no trouble around that he had to intervene.

That was, well, until he saw a child, a young lady, shouting her lungs out, calling for a certain somebody whose name was... Blue? Slowly he approached--- the little girl's concern did not seem particularly desperate, but that did not mean he could not provide his help.

"Um, hello?" he said, trying to catch her attention. "Are you looking for someone?"

---

Cassiopeia

There was something off about this girl.

Firstly, when he called out to her, she reacted as if he was a threat--- or someone to be threatened? Her emotions felt like a very strange, eccentric jumble, for one who looked like a kid. She was quick to remove the glare she had given him, the chill in her gaze, but feelings and intentions were not as easily faked. This person was either a very precocious child, raised in a very... primal or antagonistic way... or she may not be a child at all, even if that is how she looked and seemed like.

Still, either way, that did not change how Rhyme thought he should deal with her, beyond the fact that, well, he supposed he needed to be careful; this seemingly young woman was probably... dangerous. He noted the change in her demeanor, in how she deliberately played up her childlikeness, as soon as she was aware that she was dealing with somebody, with him. He wondered why she could not be true to herself.

He continued the conversation as if he observed none of these things.

"A familiar, huh?" he repeated. That reminded him of Iocus, the friend he'd visited just a while ago; he was a theurgist, and his magic relied around his familiar, a crow wyvern... or something, he couldn't remember right now what exact species Kraka was supposed to be. "So you're a theurgist, then?"

He had suspicions he was a theurgist too, or at least knew a different way of magic than just his mutations, from the vague dreams that he had. There was no indication he had a familiar looking over him while he'd been sleeping in the ruin, though. Still, he was probably no arcanist or mystic, from what he'd learned about how magic worked, although he could be an artificer... ah, but that line of thought probably didn't belong entirely in this situation.

"I... haven't seen a slime on my way here." he answered, truthfully. It seemed the girl was amusing herself, thinking that she had deceived him. Well, he would allow that pleasure, until she sought harm upon him; hopefully it wouldn't come to that. "Although..."

"...I'm pretty good at finding people." he began. "Could you tell me... how Blue thinks? What does he usually have in mind?" he asked. "If he's just around here in the Repose, I think I could figure out where he is." he offered.

---

Cassiopeia

He wondered if she should tell her that he knew that she was not what she seemed, even if he had yet to know who and what she exactly was. He could feel her irritation at having to keep up the act.

However, there was no telling what would happen if he admitted his insight. Would she lash out or deny the juvenile facade that she wore? While there were things that he could foresee with his empathy, that often worked more in the heat of the moment, in battle or in emergencies, where options were simple--- or if he knew the person in question well enough, and both those descriptors did not pertain to the situation at hand.

Concerning desires welled forth as he proferred his help to the girl; there it was again, a desire to get rid of him in the strongest, coldest fashion, and yet on the other hand a desire to know more about the boon that he was offering. He could feel her mind calculate and scheme, and wondered why she thought of death so easily and so readily.

"Not really a student, no." he responded, ultimately deciding not to give up yet the truth--- that he could see her clearly. "It's... more of a knack than a spell. If I know enough about somebody, I could have a good idea of where they are... well, if they're close by. It's a... I believe it's called... a mutation, I guess?" he shared, even as he omitted the complete nature of his variance--- that it operated on discerning the spirits of others.

"What's Blue like? Does he like to play? Does he like to eat? To sleep?" he queried. "If I knew that, I might be able to track him down."

---

Cassiopeia

Excitement showed upon her face, upon the voice that came from her lips, but not from her heart; it was, yet again, a show, it seemed, that she continued to employ for some reason. Was there something that she had to hide from, that she had to act like this? Or was there something she desired to gain from people, that she could only gain by wielding this facade?

In any case, whether under false pretenses or not, he would help her. That was his way.

"Mutants are cool?" he asked, with a note of surprise. From what he had heard, mutants... had a bit of a bad time until quite a while ago, and sometimes they still had, because of how markedly different they were, on how much more innate their magic was and how it often did not have an off switch. From what he could discern of the lass's inner rumblings, it seemed her opinion was actually the opposite of what she was expressing. Perhaps the pretense was... she was a mutant herself?

"That seems like sound advice. Some strangers might want to do bad things to unsuspecting people." he remarked. Of course, there was the question of just who was the stranger and who was the unsuspecting person in this dynamic, but he wouldn't expound on that.

He took her hand to shake it.

"Nice to meet you, then, Cassie." he said. "My name is Rhyme. I... don't think I have a last name, but I might have just misplaced it." he indicated vaguely. "I'm a freelancer, I do jobs here and there, depending on what people need. Kind of like a super part-timer or something."

"Anyway, so we're looking for Blue..." He closed his eyes and concentrated. Childlike, and likes to sleep and eat... there were children in the park, but they would most likely be in the more easily accessible parts of the Repose, and if not, they'd probably be more panicking than thinking childlike thoughts. So his best bet would probably be something in the woods that thinks like that, although he might catch a false positive with a hungry beast...

"I've got... three leads." he told her, as he opened his eyes. "The good news is that they're all generally in that direction over there... although we'll probably have to get deeper into the woods for it."

"So, let's go?" he said, waiting for her confirmation. Once she agreed, he would start leading the way, into the undergrowth.

---

Cassiopeia