"When Two Hands Crisscross..."

Graham's brow shot up again. "Well... by the sound of it, the last would be easiest to find, as people like her are fairly rare around here. I'll see if I can find out anything, though I make no guarantee's. Especially considering the rest of the work I have to do. Either way, Nadia can get you some food and a place to sleep. I know better than to fight her on whether you are staying or not. Arguing with a fool, as they say..." And then, as if nothing had happened, he moved off to return to his work... leaving Seimei with Nadia, who had at some point gotten... very close. Within arms length, crouched down to Seimei's level, eyes wide with an excited grin on her face.

"Ah!" Seimei called, before Graham could leave, "Her name... Eien-chan is... an alias... but I like it more. Her... identification... is 'Eternity.' In English."

This accomplished, Seimei blinked at Nadia's proximity and leaned instinctively away. On her head, Kage brandished her croquet mallet in a warding gesture, as if to stave off a beast.

Graham waved lazily, indicating he'd heard her, before turning the corner. Nadia let out a little squeak. "I don't care that you're older than me, you are just too adorable... but since you just look cute but are actually an adult... you're totally my new best friend! I mean, I don't have many friends, only two actually, but still!" Nadia was clearly excited, dancing a bit despite her crouched position. "We are going to have so much fun! Oh! And I've been so rude!" Nadia proceeded to stick out her index finger toward Kage, grinning. "Hello, Kage, nice to meet you! Is Seimei controlling you or are you moving on your own?"

Seimei blinked. Nadia was even more... enthusiastic... than Miyori on a 'good' day. But, if she wanted to be 'friends' then... Seimei didn't really mind. Nadia didn't seem the type to misuse that word. When she addressed Kage, Seimei was genuinely, completely surprised. That had never happened before. She was the only one who talked to Kage. Even Nao didn't speak directly to Kage.

"Kage can't speak," Seimei answered on behalf of her puppet, who was equally surprised. Her voice was tinged with remorse, as no matter what Seimei tried, she couldn't give Kage a voice, despite all her skill, "But she is... alive, yes. She cannot move... too much without me, though." A thought occurred then, "Would you... like to see a performance?"

Nadia frowned a bit. "Well that's kind of sad... but, also not so much. I doubt she'd want to travel far from you anyway, or you from her, and just because he can't talk doesn't mean she can't communicate! As for a performance... I'd love to!" With startling speed, Nadia had rushed over, grabbed a chair, set it down, and then plopped down in it. "Ready when you are, Seimei! Can I call you Seimei-chan? Sei-chan? SeiSei? Something like that? If not that's fine!"

Seimei smiled. It was still a small smile, but it was genuine and visible. "Seimei-chan... or Sei-chan... is fine."

Then she stood and held out her hands. On cue, Kage slid off of Seimei's head and into her waiting hands, rustling some hair along the way. "Ready... then. Marionette, please." Seimei lifted her hands as if to throw Kage. The little puppet seemed to jump into the air and disappear in a flash of light... and then she wasn't so little anymore.

Now the size of a ten year old girl, Kage landed on one foot and spun in place, performing a theatrical bow before straightening, a bright smile on her face. There were now faintly visible wires connecting her joints to the control bars in Seimei's hands. With a slight, masterful twist of the puppeteer's wrist the wires seemed to shimmer in the light. With them, Kage spun and - without further ado - began to dance with the strings glittering in her wake.

Spinning, leaping, and twirling, the puppet skipped gleefully about, as if revelling - as she probably was - in the simple act of moving. Her movements were not elegant or stiff, but rather childish and - in a way - real. The limbs moved and shifted as if Kage were a real girl playing about, instead of a marionette on silver strings. She circuited the room several times before - in a final movement - cartwheeling back to her original position and coming to a rest on one hand. She wobbled exaggeratedly a bit before finishing the movement to stand on her feet, just to the right of her original position, bowing theatrically at the waist once more.

It was the first time, in Seimei's memory, that she had used her skill as a puppeteer to actually put on a show. Usually, Kage would only enter marionette form in battle. In hindsight, that was something of a shame, "I... don't do this often," Seimei admitted, somewhat sheepishly, "So... if the performance was... too plain... I apologize." To her, it was a genuine worry. None of the performance had been choreographed or prepared ahead of time at all. Seimei had been forced to focus on using her experience with moving Kage in combat to perform more mundane tricks and the like that she imagined should be performed.

On the contrary, the performance seemed to have quite the effect on Nadia. She was looking at them both with slightly wide eyes, a small smile on her lips. "No... no, it was actually beautiful... it wasn't flashy, or some big show of skill... it was simple, and beautiful, because Kage-chan was clearly loving it! Hehe... if I didn't already believe she was truly alive, I would after that..." Nadia was silent for a moment, just smiling warmly... and then the damn burst, she let out an excited 'whoop' and bounded out of her chair, kneeling down in front of both of them. "You two are so freakin' cool!"

Both puppet and puppeteer looked down and twiddled their thumbs. Seimei had a luminescent blush on her face, and - if she weren't actually made of wood - Kage almost certainly would too. "...Thank you. We've practiced... together a lot. Just not... at dancing."

Nadia giggled a bit. "Well maybe you should! Combine practice with that enthusiasm, and you two will be touching hearts everywhere!" She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. "And if you happen to want a small audience to watch at anytime, let me know. I may even get Graham to come and watch! You know, once I dislodge the stick that's up his butt."

Nearly feeling the age she looked, Seimei nodded, "Yeah... it was fun. We will... definitely get better."

Next to her, Kage nodded brightly with much more confidence before - in a flash of light - shrinking once more to the size of a small doll, somehow coming to a rest on Seimei's shoulder without actually moving there.

Nadia smiled warmly, seeming to be calming back down again. "I look forward to seeing it. Thank you for letting me be your first audience for such a performance, I'm honored." She stood, and held out her hand to Seimei, grinning. "So, how about we head to the kitchen and get us some food? After that, I'll give you a little tour. There's a couple areas I can't take you until Graham feels comfortable with it, but still. We can talk about whatever you like, too."

Seimei blinked. After dancing Kage about, she was somewhat hungry. Though, then again, when was the last time she ate? "...that would be... nice, thank you."

Nadia grinned. "Well let's go then! And while we do that, you can tell me about Erinn. Or you can ask me about whatever you like. I'm not fussed, I'm just happy to talk to you. Can get a little lonely at times around here."

Still softly smiling, Seimei accepted Nadia's proffered hand. The feeling of her skin, coupled with her warmth, was nostalgic as ever, though she payed it less mind in favor of speaking - for the first time - of some of her adventures in Erinn, "I was told... when Nao saved me... that Erinn was a peaceful place... Its people are kind... its weather is fair... And it is... nice. But there are... some problems..."