Olivia Silence, Ansel, and Tuye was an odd group to see, but in truth all three were key medical personnel of Rhode Island. Olivia Silence being one of the lead doctors and researchers, Ansel, despite his age, had accumulated much in extended residency at Rhode island, and Tuye's experience in both experimental medical techniques and engineering experience would be vital for their visit. In fact, all three would be vital on their visit to Princeton Plaisborough.

The hospital had been well known in both Columbian circles as well as the greater scientific medical sphere, though not always for its stellar performance and high treatment efficacy, but mostly for its maverick approach for medical practice from one particular diagnostician, but much of the hospital shared in some of that reputation, and as a result, also attracted some less than traditional medical practitioners. At the same time, it had a rather strange relationship with Rhode Island as a result, much like many others it seemed.

They were also one of the only hospitals willing to take in many infected patients without much need for insurance, being directly funded by government grants and several, mostly Rhode Island associated, donors which also probably helped them act more maverick in their actions. Less of a need to worry about an idea of a bottom line for a hospital, unlike many of the other associated hospitals and their branches.

Being from Columbia, Silence had thought of doing a residency at Princeton once, but research had been her calling more so than application initially, and it was Rhine Labs which approached her first. Now walking through the halls of Princeton, Silence wondered what could've been but shook her head free of such thoughts. There were a multitude of what-ifs, dwelling on them all would only serve to weigh the mind of useless scenarios instead of actual work.

"Ah you three must be from Rhode Island!" a tired but loud voice moved towards them before a baldheaded Forte in a suit approached them. He had a stethoscope and gloves sticking out of his front pocket, and a small group of younger adults, all looking to be more like Ansel's age if not only a year or two older, followed him with clipboards. "Welcome to Princeton Plaisborough! I am the Dean of Medicine, Doctor Foreman." A hand was extended to Silence. "You must be Doctor Olivia Silence. Doctor Tuye. And Doctor Ansel." Silence nodded at his greeting, but the other two seemed cautionary with their titles.

"Doctor huh…"

"U-Uh I'm actually still in residency so–"

"Yes, these are my colleagues," Silence finished for them. She sent Ansel a look. It would do no good for him to show his humility now, especially considering his being told he was being "made" a Doctor by the Doctor was still a shock to him. For Tuye, it was more so the fact that while not formally trained as a medical doctor, her skills as a technician more than exceeded the qualifications for basic and advanced medical equipment usage.

"I apologize for not meeting you at New Orange's gate or even the front of the hospital,, unfortunately many… Issues have come up as of late. Especially now," the look on Doctor Foreman's face morphed into a tired look before it fixed itself into a more neutral appearance. "Several new oripathy cases have come up that require all hands on deck."

"If you need more hands-" Doctor Foreman held up his own pleadingly.

"For the time being, we have enough hands to handle the new influx. Rather, I think we've been handling it pretty well for now." Silence sent a shocked look at Doctor Foreman who must've realized what he said because his face and some of the interns behind him eyes widened before doors slammed open and shouting was heard.

"AGH!"

"My leg!"

"Where's my husband?! My husband!"

A stream of screaming men and women and even children on gurneys were wheeled in by nurses, interns, and paramedics. Burns, impalements, but above all blood and human suffering evident on the train of carnage that poured in through the doors as other Doctors who had been lax now sprung into action. The Head Nurse looked towards Foreman after finishing her phonecall.

"Explosion near the Mestle food plant. Over two hundred workers were injured and several residential neighborhoods were hit! New Orange General named us as their primary offloader!" Foreman held back a curse before he turned to the interns behind him.

"Doctor Taylor, Doctor Imedla, follow Doctor Kutner and help him with the patients in trauma 2 and 3. Follow his direction and you'll do fine. Doctor Nolan and Doctor Cuddy, you'll work with Doctor Cameron in the children's ward. The rest of you, talk to the Head Nurse in order to see what areas will need the most." There was a brief second before Foreman's voice boomed. "Get to it now people, you're Doctors!" The interns spread out and around before Foreman turned back towards Silence, Ansel, and Tuye.

"Tuye, can you see if you can call Breeze, Gavial, and Touch to see if they can make it early? When you're done with that, head to the Anesthesiology department to see what you can do. Ansel-"

"Help the nurses?"

"Help the nurses." Ansel nodded and Tuye gave him a thumbs up before the two likewise joined the throng of doctors and medical staff rushing throughout the hospital.

A look of relief spread on Doctor Foreman's face before the dispatcher for the hospital accosted him as she went by. A look of dread written on her face.

"We had some issues with some ambulances. Two were struck by cars as they were enroute to us."

"Damnit, when it rains, it really fucking pours," Foreman cursed before turning to Doctor Silence. She had already shed her overcoat and turned to Doctor Foreman who sent her a relieved look. "I have to thank Rhode Island once more, not only with how you're helping us now, but how you will help us with our pending issue."

"We care about our allies after all," Silence replied simply as she tied her back. Donning a pair of blue gloves she sent a scanning look at the area as the Emergency room began to grow more filled. "What was that about?"

"Two of our ambulances were caught in a collision. I can only expect the worst for the patients, and I hope that the paramedics involved are alright. I had just said we had enough hands, and now it seemed we don't even have enough wheels." Silence gave the man a sympathetic look as they approached the Head Nurse who had finished giving some instructions to Ansel as he quickly began to speak clearly on the intercom and towards nurses who approached him. "We have two more who were already on the way, but they had a forewarning about being only a little behind us. They should've actually been here by now-"

At her words, the doors opened up once more and the room felt time slow as two notable individuals came through the doors. Each carried a gurney above them as they were supported by injured but still standing people in paramedic uniforms. Saria herself actually had one gurney held up by her own self as her other arm had the ailing body of a paramedic who's eyes were closed being supported by their partner.

"Ah, speak of ghosts and they arrive."

"Doctor Saria?" Doctor Foreman whispered. "Doctor Saria was under employment of Rhode Island?" Silence made a noncommittal noise. "Wait, who is that Sarkaz woman? She seems familiar." Shining was not dressed in her usual Followers Robes, which seemed more like religious attire more than medical attire, and instead had donned a simple business skirt and blouse. A white blouse that seemed to grow stained with blood which she seemed unbothered by.

"Silence, what sort of trouble has happened?" Shining asked simply as the gurney she helped carry was ushered away by more able bodied doctors and the two injured paramedics were checked over.

"Looks to be an industrial accident," that was Saria who spoke. Her voice did not betray an ounce of strain as her gurney was taken and the injured paramedic was laid down to be looked after. "I can smell industrial fumes, but not standard ones. Food related?" Foreman stared at Saria with a mixture of fear and awe.

"Ah Doctor Foreman, it's been several years."

"Uh, Dean Foreman now, actually." Saria nodded her head, a look of acknowledgement on her face.

"A promotion, you rightfully deserve it." Then her eyes turned to Silence. It was still complicated between the two but their complications could be dealt with at a later time. Preferably when lives were not at stake.

"Treat the wounded?"

"Treat the wounded."

Saria nodded and Silence nodded her head before the two monoliths of Rhode Island medical department joined the fray. Their presence, whether by reputation in the case of Saria or by the sheer influence of their being like Shining, greatly reduce the panicked energy in the hospital.

"I hope these hands are enough," Silence said to Foreman, who could only nod with eyes wide open.

"This is… Definitely greatly appreciated. And Rhode Island really is showing their full force here." Silence nodded.

"Rhode Island takes very good care of their allies."

- L&L-

Penance glared at Leontuzzo, the younger Lupo's eyes refusing to meet hers as he was bandaged up by Jordi who had been called by Broca. Behind him, Lena was also bandaging up a scowling Ebonholz as Czerny looked just as cross as Penance did staring at Leontuzzo. Aosta, Broca, and Chiave stood between the two of them, eyes flicking between the two camps as they kept sitting on the edges of their seat in case things went awry.

"Leontuzzo… What happened here?" Though Penance's voice was even toned and pleasant sounding, in truth it was the most terrifying he's heard her sound in a long time. But by his own pride, he refused to voice his words and instead looked away and scowled. That was his most recent mistake. "Leontuzzo!"

"YOWCH!" A hand gripped his upper ear and pulled sharply. "St-Stop stop! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Aosta let out a low whistle.

"Didn't even get past the first round of interrogation," Broca muttered and Chiava let out a chortle of laughter. Leontuzzo sent dirty looks to the three before Penance gripped his face in her armored hand and made him face her. She may have squeezed a little too hard, much to Jordi's warning about further injury, but when she sent him a glare he immediately went back to making sure that Leontuzzo's other injuries were taken care of.

From the perspective of the other three, rapid Siracusan tonguelashing that Penance gave to Leontuzzo was barely even followed by the three. While "Siracusan" was an umbrella of languages of the Siracusan nation, there were a fair bit of nuances between different mobile cities. All Siracusans could speak with each other of course, however when in the speed that Penance spoke AT Leontuzzo, Chiave and Aosta could catch maybe every third word. Broca however got all of it down, his eyes growing wide.

"She's really laying into him," he said simply.

"It's only the first day," Aosta muttered quietly. He was fiddling with his terminal, half keeping an eye on Ebonholz and half checking on his phone.

"Ay, fratello , whatchu checkin on your phone for?" Chiave asked trying to peak over the Lupo's shoulder. Aosta moved away before pocketing it. "Oye, et tu Aosta?"

"My business," was Aosta's clipped response and Chiave narrowed an eye. Broca saw an ensuing issue and thumped them both on the back of heads.

"Oi!"

"Ow…"

"Come on, we just saw the aftermath of a fight, let's not make a sequel," Broca ground out. Chiave rolled his eyes but turned back around just as things began to finish up. Like children, Ebonholz and Leontuzzo approached eachother, neither looking the other in the eye as their "parents" gave them pointed glares.

"Sorry," they both muttered. Penance cuffed Leontuzzo on the back of the head and Czerny lightly pushed Ebonholz.

"I'm sorry for trying to break your bow," Leontuzzo ground out.

"I apologize for tackling you and kicking you in the balls," Ebonholz said stiffly. Both looked at each other before Leontuzzo extended a hand. Ebonholz glowered at it, but turning back to Czerny. The older Elafina gave a pointed glare before Ebonholz turned back around. His arm came out stiffly, stiff like a corpse and the expression on his face was much the same. Granted for Leontuzzo, his face looked as if someone shoved rancid meat under his nose.

Eventually their hands met to show that they were moving past it, however the less than happy expressions on their face showed more than enough how "happy" they were at the situations. Seeing the rumination of the room finished, it was Chiave who stood up and clapped his hands.

"Alright now that we're all good lets get break–"

"In order for this to not happen again, I've taken the liberty of drafting a contract," Penance said suddenly as from within her bag she withdrew a notebook. Chiave immediately fell back down, a look of defeat on his face.

"Maybe we should leave-" Aosta began to say before a glare from Penance stopped him.

"No, you shall stay. We need witnesses independent from either party to verify and authenticate this signing," Penance said. Broca looked ready to appeal this ruling, but a wide eyed shake of the head from Leontuzzo stopped him.

"I will not just draft this myself, in fact I would prefer it if I could get input from both parties involved," Penance said as she draw a pen out as she began to write an outline and opening. Chieave felt the prospect of food growing further and further away.

- L&L-

Surtr's hands were in her pockets as she meandered New Orange's streets. A carefree expression on her face as she walked its streets. They felt familiar, but perhaps it was because a Columbian mobile city will feel like a Columbian mobile city no matter which one it is. The billboards detailing products, each one only marginally better than the other, of services of all the same kind but with different names and faces, the concrete, steel, and glass that towered over her but with the overcast, only seemed to look like tall spires. Maybe because she was more used to traveling with the others in dilapidated ruins or small villages, but being alone in this city must feel stiflingly closed in.

Of course, she wasn't alone on this jaunt of hers. A few people accompanied her, a few close… compatriots. Arene for one, who shared a sense of curiosity at the new setting hummed to himself as his eyes found delight in all the disgusting things he saw, such as the peering eyes of beasts between buildings. He drew a few odd glances with his halo and wings out, it seemed even in New Orange, Sankta were more of a rarity than a Sarkaz. Even a Sarkaz who carried a massive sword, although it was wrapped up to look like a simple package.

"Oi you two, keep up!" The third voice of the group was the one leading them. Ethan had his goggles on and his hands in his pocket as he walked at the head of the group. For once, he was visible though mostly on the account of needing to be seen by the two others. How he came to be the leader of this group still confused him, but he knew it probably had to do with the fourth person of the group, the one who still remained invisible to those who didn't know. In fact, the light pressure on his tail was the only way he knew she was still following along.

Manticore took to the new city like she took to new recruits or patients on Rhode Island, immediately turning invisible and did her best to not be noticed. Which was usually Ethan's goal, but today he had to remain visible for her sake as well as the two behind him.. So to put it into words his current feelings of the matters…

"This is so annoying," Ethan whined to himself as he paid for their hotdogs. The chili dogs in his hand assuaged his annoyance, but he felt like he was guiding children with how the three interacted with coming to New Orange. He was okay with rooming with them, Rhode Island had been able to get them a four bedroom loft apartment temporarily, but he was also now their chaperone around the city.

"How are you supposed to eat this?" Arene asked as he examined the hot dog in his hand. He got one called a "Windy City" because in his words, "it looks positively disgusting, so it must be good". He lifted it up to examine its underside, causing a cuaresmeño that was atop of it to slip out.

"Just bite into it, like this!" Ethan hurriedly said as he showed an example. Arene followed suit, take a massive bite out of it, and chewing with a look of delight on his face. It could be said to be the same for Surtr, who ordered a "spicy dog" and was fanning her mouth.

"Spicy!" she breathed out before grabbing the milkshake she had ordered and taking a massive sip.

"Sweet," she moaned as she looked towards the spicy dog again and took another bite. Cue another bout of hot breathing following a satisfied moan as she drank the milkshake. Ethan only gave her a complicated look, one of his eyes twitching before he felt a tug on his tail. He turned around and saw Manticore, actually saw her for once. Her form visible when the four of them sat at this park bench, Arene and Surtr were busying themselves with their own actions, so Ethan was able to give Manticore is full focus.

In truth, Ethan has some reservations about offloading Rhode Island staff amongst different areas of the city. A few others had voiced the same thing when the Doctor had announced the plan, however the Doctor said they would personally make it so there would be as little potential friction as possible. The main issue of course being the Infected individuals, while Columbia was noteworthy in its treatment, having no overt biased on the frontiers, the cities was a little different. Luckily New Orange was accommodating to Rhode Island's staff and operators who were infected. Such as the case with Ethan, who found he had roomed with Surtr, Arene, and Manticore.

And now here he was being the one to lead them around New Orange because he made a passing comment about how he'd been here once or twice. At least he could get his usual chili dog, but some of the things that he saw were not anymore.

"Some things change, some things stay the same," Ethan sighed as he helped Manticore figure out how to eat her hot dog, a chili dog like his but she wasn't used to the mess it seemed.

"Do Columbians… Not care?" Manticore asked. Ethan after he had grabbed some napkins for her. He looked up at her, around them there were families playing with their kids or couples out and about. Some had infections, some were completely healthy. He knew that New Orange, and by extension Columbia, treated their Infected pretty liberally, but it was different from before when he saw many with infections hiding it.

"Some do. Some don't. It's been changing," Ethan replied with a shrug. Manticore didn't say much after. And Ethan would have gone back to his seat before a ball bounded towards him.

"Hey, can you kick it back please?" a small voice called out and Ethan looked to see a group of children, some Fortes, some Perros, even some Liberis too. Ethan smirked a bit before kicking the ball up, juggling it a few times, balanced it on his tail, and then tossed it up before using his head to send it back to them as they stared in awe.

"What was that?" Surtr had come over, a look of curiosity alight in her eyes as she looked towards the kids.

"This? It was football," Ethan replied. Surtr stared at him. "It's a game played in Columbia. I think it started in Victoria that got brought over."

"Hmmm…." Surtr looked thoughtful before she unslung her covered blade and dropped it on Ethan's waist. He let out a gasp from the sudden weight before Surtr ran up to the kids. There was a little pause before she easily joined in the fun. Ethan struggled pull the sword off of his legs before Arene dropped his bag on him.

"That looks fun," he said before running off to join Surtr and the kids. Ethan let out a grasp as lay there, accepting his fate now at being stuck on the bench. Manticore looked at him as he lay on the bench, though the day was a nice feeling with the fowlbeasts fluttering about. Even a butterfly had flown down and landed beside him as he accepted his fate.

It seemed that Manticore herself had found herself surrounded as butterflies seemed to gather around her. She froze as they flew and landed around her. Her horns, her tail, and one even landed on her nose. She let out a giggle as she felt the tickling sensation. Ethan sighed, but a smile played on his face as he also saw Arene and Surtr laughing and playing with the kids.

"How quaint," Ethan sighed as he leaned back and closed his eyes. If he wouldn't get the time to do some painting, maybe he would at least get a nice sun nap.