[X] An old man is waiting by her front door, looking concerned as the robot carries her in.
Two started slowing down in her pursuit of Three and her robot, and Yang took that time as an opportunity to catch up to the blue haired woman, still carrying the box full of scrap metal.
As she caught up to Two and adjusted her pace to match, Yang noticed that something in the box was vibrating. As she looked closer, she could have sworn she saw something sparking down the bottom of the box.
...Well, she was on full Aura, if there was some sort of issue regarding Three being completely unsafe with transporting things she'd be able to take getting zapped for a bit. It'd sting, but she'd had worse.
Looking back up, Yang realised she'd nearly walked into Two, and stopped moving. Taking a step to the side, Yang looked in to see why Two had stopped.
In front of her, there was an open door, which the robot was carrying Three through. Next to the door, holding it open, was a really small man with wrinkles all over his tanned face.
And he really was small. Yang knew she was a bit tall, but this guy looked ancient, and he barely can up to the middle of her torso.
"Ah, Lady Two." The old man nodded, seeing the woman in blue.
"Octa?" Two asked, looking down at him. Her gaze turned to Yang for a moment, then back to Octa, where her voice dropped into a forceful whisper. "You shouldn't be here..."
"Is there a problem?" Yang asked, stepping forward a bit to get Octa's attention. The older man opened his mouth to reply, but Two shushed him, and turned to Yang before she could question why.
"Don't worry about it." Two replied, with a forced laugh. "Octa's just... He's..."
She took a moment to think about it.
"One doesn't want him anywhere near minors." Two eventually decided to phrase it. "And I agree with her logic of not attracting negative attention from anyone who talked with Octa for more than five seconds."
"I'm feeling somewhat insulted." Octa sighed. "Yes, I know, my-"
He paused, looked at Yang, and reconsidered.
"My choices in discussion, as impressive as they may be, aren't for everyone's ears." He decided to say, after a minute. "And I'm smart enough to realise this. Lady Three wasn't exactly clear when she was passing on the message, but your sister Four clarified when I expressed these concerns, and I found her points persuasive. I'd rather have it than talk about it."
There was only a few possible things that Octa could be talking about here, and Yang decided she didn't want to think about any of them.
Octa opened his mouth to say something else, then quickly closed it, apparently realising that what he was going to say was also unacceptable.
Two sighed. "I suppose. But why can't you just stay at the other place? Away from where all the minors will be spending their time for a while? You'd be happier if you didn't have to keep yourself restrained by their presence. I'm sure you'd rather spend your time in a more pleasurable way than this."
"Oh, you have no idea." Octa agreed. "But my Lady Three has decided to stay here while she works on her current project, and I will stay with her. We have spent long enough separated. Not as long as you and her, Lady Two, but long enough that our reunion inspired similar unbearable len-"
Two cleared her throat loudly, and Octa paled.
"-gthhhhhhh... Of how long she wanted a massage, to work out the stress, with my magic fingers that can elicit joyous reactions when- ...Massaging spines."
Okay yeah there really was no way to misinterpret what he was getting at, at this point.
"I'm not five, you know." Yang spoke up. "And just because I'm too young to actually do any of the things you're talking about doesn't mean I'm not aware of what they are. I'm a teenage girl, and we covered the broad strokes years ago in school. I know what you're getting at."
"I'd really really like it if you didn't." Two asked. "Please forget?"
"That's not exactly possible." Yang replied, with a sigh.
"Well, could you not mention this around Lady Four, if you will?" Octa asked. "I'm rather attached to my... Zweihander, I think is the appropriate comparison here?"
Yang paused as she forced herself to think about literally anything else than what that would look like.
"Can we not?" Two asked, putting hands over Yang's ears protectively. "I just... No, Octa. No more of this."
"You don't have to stay here." Octa replied. "Nor bring any of these teenagers into this wing of the manor. It's large enough that you could just lock some doors and not worry about people being displeased about running into me-"
Two shook her head. "They're the guests here, they're not doing anything wrong by looking around."
"Technically..." Octa replied, taking a moment to make sure he wasn't going to be interrupted. "Lady Three did say she wants her privacy for her experiments. She's working on one which requires delicate handling, right now, and she's been concerned enough about it that even I have been forbidden from her test room."
"There was a sparking sound from within the box of scrap Yang was holding, and she sighed.
"I hate to interrupt... Whatever this is, but if I don't put this down soon, you guys might get a nasty shock when I get electrocuted."
Octa chuckled at the pun, and Yang immediately decided that he was alright. Had a few character traits such as the inability to have a conversation without mentioning a certain point- No, not point, not with that topic, topic is the better word here, he couldn't avoid mentioning a certain topic- But he found puns amusing and therefore he was a good person at heart.
"That was a pun, wasn't it?" Two asked, looking concerned. "If Three's been carrying around electric stuff and not being safe about it-"
"It's fine, it's fine." Yang assured her. "I didn't get hurt and nobody asked me to carry this-"
"But what if she'd just left it laying around and someone tripping into it?" Two asked. "Three's being careless again. I'll need to talk to her about proper safety management."
"I can do it if you with, Lady Two." Octa suggested. "I am an expert in safety, in many ways. Knowing when to take potential risks, ensuring maximum protective-"
"Please stop talking." Two asked. "Yang, just put the box inside Three's room, she should have a desk you can put it next to and she'll notice it when she wakes up. If she remembers she ever had it in the first place."
Yang nodded, and immediately left the conversation to put the box inside of Three's room.
It was rather tidy, in the room. Sure, the desk in the corner was covered in paper with things scribbled onto it, but the floor was spotless, and walls were shining, and the shelf in the corner covered in little wooden figurines was staked symmetrically and neatly.
On the other side of the room was a large door, made out of what looked like some sort of stone, that was currently swung open. The inside of the door seemed to be covered in dents and scratches, and looking into the room past the door, Yang noticed that it seemed like a common thing.
Over to her left, the orange and red robot was tucking Three into a bed underneath several large, fluffy blankets. The robotic hands were pulling up said blankets near Three, balancing out the sheets to ensure they were tucked in so that they wouldn't fly off if Three rolled over, and it paused for a moment as it dragged the blanket up over Three's neck.
The robot's pause was more of a freeze, and after a moment, it's arms began to shake. Then it disengaged, walking backwards rather forcefully, rigidly, as it walked into the door opposite the one Yang was in. The door swung closed, and a wheel hatch spun it locked behind the robot.
Strange, Yang mused for a moment at the sight she had seen. Another glitch in the programming? At least Three seemed to have had the foresight to program it to isolate itself if it started acting up while she was asleep. Still, it was weird that Three was even allowing something like that to just walk around unhindered. She must have had a lot of faith in her ability to ensure she was controlling it.
Walking over to the desk in the corner, Yang put the box of scrap down next to a small bin full of wood carvings, including some more figurines which had been discarded for one reason or another.
Some of them had been near completion, with one stray nick of imperfection, while others had been discarded while barely carved. It was strange, but that was how it was. Yang took a moment to note that some of them looked familiar, too. One of them resembled Two, another vaguely looked like Five...
Well it was nice that she had a hobby, at least.
Making sure the box of scrap was against the wall, Yang walked away from it, and back outside to where Two and Octa were still talking.
"-And if he finds that agreeable, then you can move lowe-" Octa was halfway through speaking, before Two noticed Yang and quickly shushed him.
"What were you talking about?" Yang asked.
"Just some advise." Two replied. "Nothing important, don't ask. Just wanted a second opinion."
"...On what?" Yang asked, suddenly having a bad feeling about-
"Oh, it's no big secret." Octa chuckled, causing Two to throw him an alarmed look. "Two merely heard my reputation as an expert masseur, from people who wanted to take it slow, and was asking if I had any insight on back massages which she could use to cause Cent a pleasurable experience."
"Yeah." Two decided. "That. That's about right, and all there was to it."
She nodded, as if what she was saying was actually convincing.
"And now that we have dealt with that." Two continued. "I think we should-"
She froze, and suddenly realised something.
"Ah! Sorry, I never properly introduced you two, did I?" Two asked. "Sorry, I'm being so airheaded recently, I don't know why. Octa, this is Yang. A good friend of mine, and the sister of the girl that Five... You know."
Octa nodded, and Yang subtly clenched a fist behind her back at the mention of Five taking Ruby.
So, it was well known enough amongst the Intoners and their allies that Octa knew about it? Enough that Two could use it to identify Yang, by pointing out her failure?
...No, Two didn't mean it like that, she shouldn't try to think about it like that.
"Yang, this is Octa." Two continued. "He's Three's Disciple. You know, the person who helps her do the song thing to summon the Angels?"
"A pleasure to meet you." Octa nodded, offering a hand to shake. Yang looked at it for a moment, thinking about where it had likely been, before deciding that he probably would have washed it and she didn't want to be rude.
Taking his hand and shaking it back, Yang smiled. "So, a Disciple, then? How do the Intoners get Disciples anyway? Do you just pick them out of a bag, or..."
"Nothing like that, dear Yang." Octa replied. "Disciples are, ah... Hm. It's hard to explain."
"The Disciples are the Disciples." Two replied. "I'm not sure how exactly it works. Cent and I realised what was going on instantly, but he said something about it being a result of destiny that we were so closely entwined and it was super romantic, but I don't think Three and Octa are as close as me or Cent."
Octa sighed. "Oh, Cent. Such a lucky young man, to have such knowledge of a maiden such as yourself."
"Stop that." Two ordered, actually looking a bit cross for a moment. Octa seemed to realise he had crossed a line, because he took a step back and-
Yang's attention was suddenly on Octa's shows. His large, stilt-like shoes that made up a fifth of his height, and he was still smaller than everyone.
Huh.
"Well, to put it another way." Octa tried. "Disciples being fated might be right. Not in as how Cent meant it, as destined lovers, but more... Certain people are just naturally Disciples who can help to manipulate the Song of a certain Intoner. We usually end up meeting with our Intoner before long, as if fate was pulling us together. Or perhaps our status of a Disciple isn't confirmed until we meet our Intoner? I'm not entirely sure on the process."
"So you don't get any pick in your Disciple?" Yang asked. "It's something that happens immediately, and not just something that attaches to someone you care about?"
"No, no." Octa shook her head. "Unfortunately, I don't think all Disciples and Intoners have the best relationship. It's, ah, not my place to speak about such things, but not all are as close as Two and Cent, or even me and Three."
"I see..." Yang noted. "Come to think of it, who are all the Disciples? Two has Cent, Three has you, Four had Decadus, and Dito was..."
Yang trailed off, putting a hand over the pain in her stomach in the process. "My point is, what about One's and Zero's?"
"Don't have any." Two stepped in. "Or, I guess Zero might and we just haven't met yet. And One might have one she hasn't run into yet too. But no, no Disciple as far as I'm aware."
"Well, this has been a fun conversation." Octa decided. "But I'm afraid I have some work to do. I was here waiting for Lady Three so I could ask her to decide something, but since she's asleep, I have other duties to tend to. I haven't had time to sort all of her paperwork, and she wanted me to properly make copies of all the research notes she gained during a correspondence with someone named Merlot, not to mention that she wanted to send a request to the Atlas Military Robotics Committee for..."
He trailed off.
"Well, I won't bore you any longer. My Lady keeps my busy, I presume as a mechanism of ensuring that the fun I have in the day is all the more pleasurable for the forced wait making me long for it."
Yang ignored that finishing statement. "I'll... See you around, then?"
"Maybe not." Two chirped in.
"Perhaps, perhaps not." Octa nodded, stepping into Three's room. "Good day."
And with that, he closed the door behind him.
"That was something." Yang noted. "Hey, Two, do you know where we're meant to be going from here?"
Two took a moment to look around.
"Hm..." She mused. "Oh, now I know. If you follow me, we can get back to the main hall, and then up some stairs and into a side wing. Come on, we'll head there, set up, and then I can help you unpack, if you want. Then maybe we could do something else."
"Sure." Yang replied. "Though I should probably go to sleep early tonight. I feel fine now, but if I stay up much longer I might stat noticing a bit of jet lag."
"I'm sure you'll have time to do something." Two replied. "Before you have to go to bed, I mean. And tomorrow's likely to be busy with the people from Mistral and the girl from Vacuo arriving, so you might want to do a thing now."
"Any ideas?" Yang asked.
Two took a moment to think about it.
[X] "Maybe you could pop by and visit all the kids? Some of them would love to see you, Yang."
[X] "Hey, now's still a chance to meet the Atlas students. Wanna have a quick chat with them down in the weapons room?"
[X] "One might say no, but maybe we could try going to the main manor? Weiss might like someone to talk to, she's been sad a lot..."
[X] "You know, it's been a while since you saw Winter, wasn't it? Maybe we could ask the military people if she's free to talk right now."