2864/Swarm The Museum Curator Take 2

Swarm The Museum Curator Take 2
Date of Scene:	06 December 2025
Location:	Penguin Park - Museums
Synopsis:	Kazuo and Kureha have come for an after hours tour with Curator Maryam Siddig. They have questions - and she is as glad to find answers as she is to learn from them.
Cast of Characters:	NPC Maryam Siddig, Kazuo Saitou, Kureha Senkenzan

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NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
On Sunday, Maryam Siddig finally had the encounter she'd been hoping for: a pair of curious mahoujin exploring her exhibit while she was present. On Monday, she spoke with a trio of new-to-her mahoujin as well as the thief-prince who'd first introduced her.

Today is Friday, and Maryam has had a much calmer, more mundane week of working with her museum hosts, reviewing marketing materials, and re-reviewing the exhibits on display. It's evening, the museum is closed, and she's received notice that she may be expecting visitors - which is why she's waiting at the Museum's entrance with a security guard, a single light still on to prove that they aren't yet entirely closed. The security guard is in uniform; Maryam, a tall Middle Eastern woman with her long dark hair pulled back into a single braid, wears a navy dress with a stark white blazer.

"I appreciate you for being so patient with all this, Takeda-san," she's saying, "I know this isn't your usual routine."

"Eh, at least things are interesting," the security guard says, a cheerful man in his 60s. "And it's not that it's been any trouble. I'd rather a group of kids come for an after hours tour than try to break in or somethin'."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo Saitou is dressed neatly in his school uniform - never mind that it's not high school he's at Radiant Heart for anymore. Black blazer with orange accents: something immediately identifiable, because heaven knows nobody not at the Academy is going to turn up with that at random. Granted, the earrings and the long white hair aren't exactly standard-issue. Neither is the height.

He bows to the pair of adults as he approaches. There is not so much as an extra blink at the mention of trying to break in. What? That was Kunzite. Obviously different.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "My lady, would you like the time to yourself?"

    "Yes, please. I've a few Senkenzan matters to discuss."

    Kureha is still, technically, supposed to be in Kyoto. But with matters in Kyoto being what they are, she's temporarily 'hiding out' in Tokyo, and the only one of her three attendants she can trust with this matter is Chisa. The woman has walked beside her as they approach the museum, but past a certain point, she gives her young charge a knowing bow of the head, and then veers off. Kureha continues on a straight path, heavy winter kimono rippling faintly around her feet.

    And as soon as she's in a more conversational range, the tiny black-haired girl leans into a polite bow, and speaks in a calm, yet lilting Kyoto accent. "I'm ever so deeply grateful for your willingness to offer a tour at this dreadful hour. Senkenzan Kureha, delighted to meet you." Her head turns just enough to indicate that the greeting is extended to Kazuo as well.

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
The quiet conversation between curator and security guard peters out as they're approached, and both representatives of the museum bow in return.

"Thank you for meeting with us, Senkenzan-san, and friend. This is Takeda-san, my colleague. He would like to take a few precautionary measures - a metal detector wand - and then he'll allow us to go through. As I'm sure you've been informed, I am Maryam Siddig, curator for the traveling exhibit Magic in the Making."

Takeda-san steps forward, and if agreed, will begin waving the wand gently, never once touching either teen.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Kazuo Saitou. I appreciate both of you being willing to offer your time." He adds to Kureha, "I'm a friend of Chiba-kun's, if you happen to know him." Not that he would ever call Mamoru that where Mamoru could hear him, but Mamoru is considerably better known around Radiant Heart than Kazuo is these days; Kazuo's reputation as a delinquent, and thus his reputation at all, has declined markedly over the last couple of years. Kazuo bows again to Takeda-san, then stands still for the Wand Check. No hidden knives, no concealed weapons, and very definitely no suspicious cans of soup. He does fish out his keys to show them when the wand's briefly uncertain about that, but there's not even an acrylic charm attached.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha inclines her head to Takeda-san, and obligingly lifts her arms, letting the man do his job as needed. Once he's done, she lower her arms again, folding them in front of herself. "Ah, Chiba-kun... he and I are acquainted, yes. His fashion sense is second to none." To anyone who really knows, it'll probably say everything about how she and Mamoru know each other - and also a fair bit about Kureha herself. "I was awfully pleased to hear about this exhibit. My family has always claimed to be descended from oni, so myths and tales are near and dear to our hearts."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
Fished out keys are examined and accepted, Takeda-san nodding cheerfully enough as he puts away his wand. "Alright kids, you're all clear. Mind Siddig-san's instructions, yeah? She brought this whole exhibit to life, so if you're good she'll tell you all about it."

They're waved through, with Takeda-san holding the door for them. Maryam guides the way to the museum's elevator, leading them directly to the third floor.

"I'm glad to have that confirmed again," she says as she leads them, "Chiba-san told me to expect more friends of his, but I wasn't able to quite divert security this time. Takeda-san and his colleagues work hard, and I hate sidestepping them."

They emerge on the third floor, where an entry desk, usually manned by staff, waits.

"Descended from oni isn't the strangest thing I've heard in the last week," she admits. "Here, out of prying eyes, I can confirm that I would be happy to answer whatever questions I can, and to show you around the exhibit. There are a great deal of items here, and while not all have their origin in true magic, they all express human creativity and spirit."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo inclines his head gravely to Kureha about Mamoru's fashion sense. Which is ... sometimes true. It's true in the important moments. It's ... there are likely people who would count the T-shirts that way, somewhere, who are not Mamoru; Kazuo probably even knows a couple. Somehow he keeps a straight face, and bows to Takeda-san a third time on the exit.

"I remember the protocols they were following when we first came to look at the exhibit," he says. "It was impressive. And the way they coped with one of our very American friends was due praise in and of itself."

His eyes are flickering up and about, marking cameras, studying areas that he'd used to avoid them when he and Mamoru made their less official visit. Considering whether the security's been improved. Another nod toward Kureha, and he says to her, "Your interests should have priority, I think. I've had more of a chance to look, and may be a little overly focused on a couple of specific questions."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "I'm as much here for the exhibit itself as anything," Kureha replies to Maryam as they come up to the third floor. "I've so many questions that I won't know which to ask until they come to mind, but..." She regards Kazuo briefly, then gives him a grateful nod. "I'm quite obliged. I... suppose I can at least be a smidge more open, in the presence of friends of Chiba-kun." He was one of the first people to know her identity; that alone warrants some measure of trust.

    "...I suppose we can start with the topics nearest and dearest to my heart. I've browsed the clan archives here and there, I know the tales my grandmother tells, but... well, the archives are focused on the Senkenzan, and so are the stories. I'm curious what you know of the Youkai Musume, or others of our sort from a thousand years ago."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
"It's our dearest desire to protect the art here as much as possible, even outside of the history and secrets that this exhibit protects. There's only so much that we can do, but what we can do, we will." She glances at the security measures herself - a museum only has so much money to spare, but she's pulled some strings to help with additional security measures, cameras in a few new places. Part of the problem is that there's truly nothing the mundane can do to stop the magical.

The other part is that she doesn't want to make it too difficult for those this exhibit is meant for to visit. Even if she would prefer they visit after being trained in artifact handling.

"That said, Takeda-san's team is very good at what they do. Even when people are upset at the care we're taking - better that a visitor be a little upset than something priceless be damaged."

Her lips quirk in a smile at the phrase 'very American', remembering some of her graduate school colleagues.

"If this is your first time visiting, I would be happy to walk you both through the exhibit." She really, truly would be, though she waits patiently, anticipating questions - "The Youkai Musume, now that's a name I haven't heard since my graduate research. One of the more better recorded branch of magical heroes, having appeared in Japan since the Heian era, embodying the strength of various youkai... there's a piece here, actually, that you might find of interest."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's eyebrows lift in evident interest of his own, and he glances between Maryam and Kureha. Not speaking, not interrupting; he's just said it's not his first time visiting, but it is Kureha's, and listening to Maryam's perspective would be more than merely interesting.

And cutting through the mist, while tempting, is less attractive a proposition - both because of the new cameras he can see, implying the possibilities of new ones he might not be able to, and because of the question he's holding in reserve. He's not sure that reintroducing himself might bias the results. He's not sure it might not. So he's quiet. For now.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    For a moment, Kureha considers, but then she nods firmly. "I'd quite like that, I think. I know the basics of my own history, but to hear the history of all the magical folks from other lines and places... even if only a broad overview, it would do me some good. I fear I've rather missed a lot." Knowledge is power, and more importantly, the tiny scion of the Senkenzan can't help her own curiosity. At mention of the piece being held at the museum, however, her expression actually darkens, just fainly. "Ah... so it's true, then. I had heard a Senkenzan piece might be on loan from Hozan Chikafuji's collection." She manages to make it sound perfectly polite, but there's just that vaguest hint of something unhappy under there. "Perhaps let's start with the tour, and find our way there as we might."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
Maryam is taking note of the quiet from Saitou-san, intent on ensuring that both of her guests this night walk away with at least some of their questions answered. For now, she can start with some of their oldest artifacts, at least.

"A broad history is something I can loosely provide, at least. There is much we wish we knew, more that we recognize without understanding, and far more still that is beyond us - but this museum captures some of the depictions of magic we have known of, and seen evidence of, through the years. You're well-connected, to know the origin of the piece I had in mind - which means you may well have seen it. Still, I would be remiss not to share it with you as we make our way through the exhibit. While many art museums prefer to arrange their pieces according to style or region of origin, we chose to highlight chronology for this exhibit - it seemed more important to the answers that you all might seek to see the eras of magic, more than to fret over the commonalities. This does mean there's a certain amount of stylistic grouping - time periods are often marked with artistic styles - but it also means you will see pieces spanning the globe beside one another."

"As far as we can tell, this world has always had magic, and likely always will. Some of the earliest evidence of this lies with some of our oldest exhibits - this papyrus dates back to roughly 1335 BCE, and depicts a woman known as Khepri, the Ladybug Goddess in a battle against Pharaoh Akhenaten. The motif of the Ladybug and the item she possesses repeats across other artifacts in our collection, including one of various girls and women dubbed 'Jeanne d'Arc'..."

They are given a brief tour through much of the exhibit, leading them through BCE and well into AD, and it's near a yamato-e painting titled 'The Guardian of Ooe' that they stop. While the plaque does not name the owner of the private collection that's placed the item on loan, there is no denying that Senzenkan-san has already gathered just who allowed the painting to be displayed.

"And this, of course, is 'The Guardian of Ooe', depicting a Youkai Musume and who is most likely Abe no Seimei."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
The Art Museum @ Pikarigaoka is not an especially large building. The three hundred and fifty one items which make up the Magic in the Making exhibit are currently accounting for a good number of items hosted by the museum, taking up much of the third floor that's typically unavailable to the public. The fact that so many items can be meaningfully and safely displayed speaks to the dedication of both the museum staff and Maryam herself.

It also means that though the Heian era and the Americana period of the 1950s were separated by nearly a thousand years, paintings from these eras might not be close to each other, but they aren't far away either. Even as Maryam discusses The Guardian of Ooe, A Family Luncheon looms in the distance, the large, vertically oriented painting demanding attention with its loving depiction of chaos.

"One of the unfortunate truths of history is that truths and secrets are not often enough shared in artistic forms. Some of these are imaginings, some of these are truths, and many more are a mix of the two - echoes of something real displayed only in the trappings of the time's understandings. And there are so many more pieces that aren't art, leaving them unable to be displayed here."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    When Maryam notes that Kureha may have seen the piece in question, the young lady keeps her peace for the moment, but it's not hard to see there are thoughts running through her head. But on they go, and she's happy to look at the various pieces on display; reserved though she may be, Kureha Senkenzan has a lot of curiosity about the world around her, and it's entirely possible she may be back during the day, when there's more time. It's the 'Guardian of Ooe' that most catches her eye, however. Even having never seen it before, she knows it at a glance.

    "...Mm. It's my first time laying eyes on this one, to be sure. But..." She turns her head a little, glancing up at Maryam. "...I can confirm that's most likely Seimei, from what I know. The way our records tell it, he was quite the busybody, fussing and bothering over all the families." Past that, she once again folds her hands together and follows along, regarding the other pieces with curiosity. "So often the truth... so many of the old clans kept their secrets jealously. More precious than gold. I'd wager we've lost a lot, that way."

    She can't help glacing off to the particularly large painting in the distance, though - it's such an odd painting, of such strikingly abnormal proportions, and the subject matter seems to keep bringing her back.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Seimei," Kazuo repeats, thoughtful enough. He'll have to adjust his estimations of the subject date, if one of the people in the painting died a century before his initial guess at the timing. A tweak of the details - a century one way or the other won't make any difference in the general conclusion - but it's only polite to correct one's errors.

He follows Kureha's glance to the Family Luncheon, and exhales slightly. "I ask your pardon, Curator, but - would you mind if we stepped aside from your plan of the tour to look at one piece a little early? It's the one I have a question about, and I see that it's catching Senkenzan-san's attention as well."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
So it is her first time seeing it - Maryam feels a certain pride in that, as someone who curated this exhibit, who wanted to share new-old truths with a current generation so broad in scope, but she's curious, too, at how the girl came to know about the loan and guessed its relevance without knowing the scope. She might inquire, later.

"The records we have access to hold that up," she agrees, "Seimei certainly seems to have made it his business to be involved in a little bit of everything that his era was involved in. Not unlike some of you children, it seems."

She's not heard everything, or even half of it, but she's heard enough to raise her brows into the sky.

"You're not wrong. We've lost innumerable secrets to paranoia and fear, clinging to power by holding knowledge... but we've gained access to things too, and that's what I try to keep my focus on, admittedly."

She follows the eyes of her young visitors to the painting in the corner, and hums quietly.

"No, Saitou-san, I don't mind. You've been very patient about your questions, and I wish to answer them. Let's go then, and I'll share with you what I know."
R
They pass a great number of paintings and sketches from various masters, apprentices, and others before they reach 'A Family Luncheon'. Maryam smiles at the painting, unaware of the grief and loss Endymion and Kunzite experienced when they laid their hands upon it.

"This is one of my favorites, admittedly. I've always been fond of this - framing, styling. Patricia McDowell was one of many female artists breaking through boundaries in the United States, and this painting gained much attention, not only for its styling, but also for the casual treatment of the fantastical and mundane elements blending together. It was sold by McDowell to the Seattle Art Museum in 1976; they have a small exhibit of her paintings there, including others featuring the fairies shown here."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Others?" Kazuo repeats, glancing away from the painting to Maryam, eyes alert; then shakes his head a little. "-- that will wait. According to the informational plaque, McDowell was - just less than thirty when she painted this, if I'm doing the arithmetic correctly? Would you happen to know the ages of any of the other subjects at the time, or perhaps be willing to make an informal estimate?"

This is what is known as a suspiciously specific question. And yet there is neither chara nor egg floating around Kazuo. Hm.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha seems almost grateful to Kazuo for the shift of pace, and she follows along just a touch behind the other two this time. Her attention for the painting is rapt, but this time she has less to say... other than a soft murmur of, "I could swear I've seen magical tiny people in some of the fights I've been in the past couple years." She does, however, watch Kazuo with a sharper, more analytical gaze. In a family where secrets are currency and everyone works at least three layers of obfuscation deep, she's gotten quite used to watching people for their motivations... and that seems more personal than she'd expected.

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
"You probably have been," Maryam tells Suzenkan-san, "I was introduced to a guardian fairy named Tracy earlier this week!"

She's quite excited abou it. At Saitou-san's question, she nods. "Oh, yes, there are others. Many of the items here represent samples of much large collections from their home museums - that's one of the reasons that they agreed to loan items for the exhibit, to encourage interest in viewers traveling back to see the complete collections. The Seattle Art Museum has eight of McDowell's paintings, including 'A Family Luncheon'. Two others include the fairies depicted here."

Saitou-san has several specific questions to follow up, and she does raise an eyebrow.

"I... hm. McDowell wasn't a great celebrity of any kind, and her social circle wasn't well documented. She was interviewed when she donated the work in 1976, though, and said that these were long-term friends of hers, around her age... she met them..."

She tips her head back, thinking. "She met them in college, I believe. She was the eldest. May I ask what you're looking into?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"There are at least a few," Kazuo agrees to Kureha. "Probably more than a few. I should keep better track, but we've been a little distracted."

He bows to Maryam again, once she's finished speaking, and says, "Please pardon me for not reintroducing myself properly earlier. My other name is Kunzite; I'm one of Chiba-kun's guardian knights. I was with him when he came to investigate some of the items here, and met you as a result. While he was here, he was able to read part of a memory that had been emotional enough to embed itself into this painting - McDowell's daughter sometime later confronting her mother over her mother's failure to remember her magical companion, and her mother thinking her daughter's own companion was a figment of her daughter's imagination. Her daughter didn't understand what was happening."

He pauses for a brief moment, drawing a breath, assembling thoughts, then continues. "Our miniature society takes it for granted that eighteen to early twenties is the end of magical life. That we will lose our abilities, and forget." He says it analytically, as if his eighteenth birthday weren't in the rear-view mirror already. "McDowell's daughter grew up with four magical adults, in a city that produced more than one recent artwork in this exhibit ... and somehow she had never heard of such a thing happening. Perhaps their group was only isolated. Or perhaps something happened, between the nineteen-fifties and now. And if something happened, if something changes that forgetting, then who knows? Perhaps we can find out how, and change it again."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    This has become deeply personal enough that Kureha doesn't dare intrude. She listens, quiet and attentive, looking back and forth between the two. And Kazuo verges into a concerning territory - and offers some more concrete info that simultaneously worries and confuses her. She's heard about this before, briefly, vaguely and in passing. The idea that 'their kind' forget as they grow older. And yet, this sounds more serious, deeper. Not just a loss of belief, but something more powerful. It puts a faint frown and a furrowed frow onto the oni-blooded girl's face.

    "...this 'forgetting', is it a noted phenomenon? I ask only because my grandmother, Kiyomi Senkenzan... she's my predecessor Onihime. She did it only the once, but she still remembers."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
Maryam pauses as Kazuo bows once more, her brows initially furrowing in confusion - and then she experiences what so many before her have - the bewildering phenomenon of the Veil giving way, and features which had been distinct and unique become obviously identical. Kazuo Saitou is Kunzite. Kunzite is Kazuo Saitou. Same height, same hair color and style, same expression - well, not quite. There's something different in his face with Endymion not here and his hunt well underway.

She's not afraid, but delighted by the conclusion he's come to, and she's nodding her head as he speaks -

"He can draw emotion and memories from the items here? So that's why he sought to touch the items - no, that's not the core matter here, that isn't the central focus. Kunzite, I thank you for trusting me with your identity. I can confirm from my own research, and the items that we have handled, that the current age you're sighting... is not the age The Phenomenon has always struck. McDowell was almost thirty when she completed his piece, I believe and her daughter would have been nearly ten."

Her face falls.

"Early twenties... you're all so young, and that's still so young, for an entire era of your lives to end..."

And then Kureha throws her own spammer in the works and Maryam blinks - "Your grandmother still remembers that she was a magical warrior?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"It's noted, and by far the usual, but not quite universal," Kazuo says to Kureha. "I know one person past the age when powers fade, who is still active to a limited extent; hers are - not what they were, but she manages. There may also be one small location where the forgetting doesn't behave the way it does elsewhere, at least for people native to it. I have the impression that it's a good idea not to push one's luck with the small handful of exceptions, though. There seems to be the potential for a backlash."

Maryam receives a small, brightly feral smile, and another inclination of Kazuo's head. "Thank you for that confirmation. And perhaps we should discuss the other matter sometime; we might be able to add to your store of information on the items, in a more controlled manner." Sometime. Because Kureha has apparently startled Maryam more than Kazuo expected.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Their reactions alone confirm what Kureha has been wondering. It's as if something happens, and it didn't used to happen like this. But Maryam seems particularly surprised, and the young lady blinks in faint surprise herself. "Y... yes, she does." Her brow furrows again. "I hadn't thought it odd until now. I've heard about this fading before, but it always sounded as if it was just a fading of powers, and perhaps the weight of dreadful adult life grinding the belief out of us. Grandmother always was a headstrong woman, so it wasn't surprising. But if this memory loss is more than that..."

    Kureha absently smooths her kimono out, shaking her head. "I can't recall her ever mentioning such a thing as this forgetting, nor what she might have done to avoid it." She looks up at Kazuo, thoughtful. "Grandmother only ever transformed the once. She said she tried again later, while she was still young, but she could never muster the 'fire in her belly', as she put it." Folding her hands back together, the young Senkenzan returns to her placid almost-pokerface. "I can ask and see if she has a thought on the matter, but I do worry about bothering her overmuch. Especially with things in Kyoto as they are."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
"I knew that Hanasaki-san had found a way to preserve her memories - but it's at grave cost, and diminishing capabilities... but to have recalled all of those memories..."

She considers for a long moment...

"And you say there are other spaces, where this happens? Interesting. I wonder how they've evaded their fate..."

She looks up and sees the surprise on their faces.

"My apologies for my shock - it's only, magic was not concentrated in Japan, when your grandmother would have been a girl. For her to have transformed at all, and to remember it - it's very impressive."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Grave cost and diminishing capabilities - Kazuo's eyebrows climb for a moment. But he looks thoughtful, rather than surprised, as if that description explained a few things. "I may be able to introduce you to my source of information later," he says to Kureha, "if there are things you'd like to know on the subject of what it's like for most people. But yes. Certainly your grandmother sounds like a very impressive woman - but what's going on in Kyoto is also impressive, and it might be best not to draw attention to her, if possible."

To Maryam, he says, "I'm not certain how they've evaded their fates, but it might be simply by being too confusing for the Fade - the Phenomenon - to figure them out. Certainly I haven't, and I've been trying for a couple of years now."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "She's a strong woman," Kureha agrees, and for once there's just the faintest hint of warmth. "Before her, it had been ages since the last of our line to transform." She does tilt her head slightly towards Kazuo and adds, "I may yet take you up on that, but perhaps after matters in Kyoto are settled. So far as my father knows, I'm still there." She's only in Tokyo due to the sheer danger in Kyoto at the moment; and even that's slowly bleeding over. "But that's more than enough about me, I imagine you've quite a few questions yet to ask."

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
"There's something afoot in Kyoto?" Her furrowed brows are drawn closer together, now. "It's impressive, to come from a lineage of magic, but I'm sure you know that, Senzenkan-san."

She shakes herself, coming back to stillness and smiling at the two.

"I hope the insight I've offered has been worth your time - and though I am quite curious about the two of you, I remain committed to my duties, here. Would you like to continue the tour?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"That was my primary question," Kazuo admits to Kureha. "I've had the advantage of multiple visits, and a little analysis - not much, because there isn't as much hard data available as I'd like, but a little." He draws a piece of paper from an inner pocket, unfolds it, and shows it to her and Maryam - a scatter plot in reds and blues, estimated subject ages and artist ages against dates from the exhibit. "Being able to confirm that the trendlines are convenient lies, that the rate of change is not smooth, was what I hoped for. Anything else today is a pleasant addition. The tour in particular - though you are certainly welcome to ask questions, whether now or again at a later time, Curator; it's the least I can do in return."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "I should certainly be happy to answer any questions you might have about the Senkenzan line," Kureha replies, giving a grateful bow. "I've learned quite a bit already, it's only fair. But I'd also be quite happy to continue the tour, yes." She does look at Kazuo's chart curiously, taking a moment to decipher it. The visual of ages plummeting as time goes on is a bit striking to see, both for the subjects and especially the artists on each piece.

NPC Maryam Siddig has posed:
Maryam looks at the scatterplot with interest, taking in the values and the general correlation that's offered, she hums...

"Have you ever considered a future in paleontology, anthropology, or archaeology? Your instinct to move right to scatter plots to investigate correlation is... very inline with what we'd do in our careers."

There's genuine interest, but also a good amount of very sincere amusement in her voice. She leads them back to the place where they left off before moving to A Family Luncheon, starting with a particular piece.

"Admittedly, it may not be as heroic as saving the world, but it does allow one a great amount of time with the remnants of our history, to share stories that would otherwise be forgotten. These paintings are predominantly believed to features heroes - this one, is in English called the Lioness Rampant, and features a woman widely revered still in Italian culture for her role in..."