Between "Heaven" and Earth [Murasaki, Sophie]

The Soul Society. Sophie couldn't say that she knew much of this place besides the details that were provided to her by merit of her role and time in the Vandenreich, she knew that her brother was quite attached though after the incident but there was none of that same attachment that she had. If anything, it only frustrated her a little bit that she had to leave her comfortable spot in Earth. The biggest difference was the fact that the soul society was far more dense with reishi than she had exepected, it was one thing to know about that fact but to experience it?

It was different.

So she stood among the barracks of the First Division, gathering information while she idled. Trying to understand what was nothing more than a great threat to the group that she represented until the new captain commander was ready to see her.

There was plenty on her mind to occupy it so the wait didn't bother her in the slightest: gather, analyse and consider. Come to conclusions while preparing herself for facing an individual of immense power and to the back of her mind, her brother's girlfriend. Ah, that didn't matter though.

She was just the Captain Commander of the Gotei United as far as she was concerned.

While Murasaki would have been the first to say that she didn't especially relish the thought of having anyone from the Vandenreich come up to Soul Society, it was obviously still for the best that they keep diplomatic channels open. Besides, this was all something they could hardly just brush past, so she didn't think it'd be good to keep things totally in the dark.

Pouring herself a cup of tea, she gestured for one of the guards to go and inform the Vandenreich's envoy that she was ready for their meeting. She'd needed to review the paperwork, get everything ready. She didn't know much about this woman who'd come to visit her on their Grandmaster's behalf, but that didn't matter too terribly much, did it? This wasn't exactly a personal matter anyway.

"Sophie Geisleitt. One of the Administrators that oversee the Albedochiffren."

She introduced herself while walking in to take a seat, at the captain commander's gesture. Using English rather than the language they spoke up here, Sophie would've liked to say it was done as a desire to inconvenience the official of the Gotei but it wasn't. She just didn't speak the language well enough to carry it in conversation despite some of the quincy arts being in the language.

"I am here as representitive of the Vandenreich, I would like to discuss a couple of things with you Captain Commander. Could we start with the situation that happened in Vastime, unless there are other matters you'd like to start with?"

"It's a pleasure. Kagayaku no Murasaki, but just Murasaki is fine. Tea?"

Murasaki didn't mind speaking English, if anything it was a language that she'd gotten pretty used to using casually. After all the time she'd spent on Earth, it was something that only made sense for her to be fluent in. Didn't surprise her that they would use it for a neutral meeting like this.

Whether or not Sophie accepted the offer for a cup of tea, Murasaki continued to speak, all business for now. She wasn't intending to let her first major diplomatic effort go poorly.

"No no, I think the Vastime situation is definitely the right thing to start with. It's probably the most important thing to happen in any realm right now."

"No, thank you."

Sophie turned it down only because she didn't like tea and she had to think about what would appear more insincere. To decline or to accept and leave it untouched through the whole exchange? Better to be upfront rather and avoid things that might create uncertainty. Sophie did after all want to leave this meeting with good relations, especially when the woman in front of her commanded the side that would more than likely obliterate them. Another Vandenreich, and by proxy, quincy genocide would be nice to avoid.

"As you know, the Vandenreich are very focused on ensuring that the living realm is in good order, keeping it from devolving into another situation as the world in my lifetime after Shadow Fall came and conquered much of the planet and the following war. I am curious as to what the Gotei's stance on the Vastime situation is. The death of... Death is could be detrimental and knowing that the demons used it as a source of power does leave concerns that they might try and revive an invasion effort to fill that void of energy left in its wake of dying."

How stupid it sounded to say the death of death. It threw her off initially but a quick recovery before she tried to reach and express her concerns about how this situation could cascade into many terrible what-if scenarios.

Murasaki didn't feel particularly insulted at the idea of the tea being declined or anything, she just assumed the tea didn't really care for it. That or she expected poison or something. Well, whether or not Murasaki liked that thought, she had to admit it was probably something worth being worried about with the previous Captain Commander.

"It's something we're taking seriously. The Gotei's job is maintaining the spiritual cycle and ensuring that it can continue in a stable way. If Death has been taken out of the picture, that's something we can't ignore. It'll probably have a huge impact on the cycle moving forward, both in terms of how deaths occur and all the energy I imagine will be moving into the cycle. I'm already preparing for it, and I hope you'll do the same on Earth."

She knew more of the Vandenreich's general operating principles than she let on, of course. Having been Earth Affiliation Captain for years, she'd done more than enough research on the Vandenreich as one of the most important factions she'd be dealing with. But the question wasn't what they would do, the question was how they would do it.

"Are you ready if something causes disruptions on Earth, or if the remnants of Shadow Fall take this as some opportunity to come back into power?"

"We are always vigilant for any threats to Earth is our main priority."

Sophie ensured while sitting back a bit, avoiding going too deeply into the nature of how they would handle it. It wasn't a matter of giving her the means but assuring her that the possibility could be handled if it did arise, which she hoped it didn't. After going through World War Four, she did not take to pointless violence and conflicts.

"Shall we expect more of the Gotei's activity on Earth in light of this?"

"You should, yes. I think it'd be irresponsible of us to ignore what could easily turn into the biggest threat any of the realms have seen. Until we know exactly what sort of situation this is, we'll be having our patrols keep a much closer eye on things."

Of course, she knew simply saying 'yes we'll be more focused on Earth' was opening the Gotei up to another invasion, but Murasaki didn't think that anyone was quite in the position for a situation like the demon incursion anymore. And it wasn't as if she'd just have Realm Enforcement start getting lax.

"I know your Grandmaster and a lot of your people aren't fond of our organization's presence. That's never been really secret. I don't have any intention of causing issues, and my people won't be interfering in your operations. But I also won't let anything get in the way of our handing this."

Well it did sound a little arrogant, the redhead thought but also stubborn. A bit like her brother, she could see why these too got along but Sophie wasn't going to argue or try to act like she was offended by the implication that Murasaki viewed them as a thorn.

"Of course, Captain Commander. You Gotei handle it as you best see fit, I can't say I hold any animosity towards you or you shinigami, after all my brother is one of you."

Maybe there was more personal gripe, was it animosity? No. She wasn't fond of them either though.

That admittedly caught Murasaki off guard, though she was thankful that her emotional control was ahead of what most in the Gotei were capable of. Her brother? She'd thought about the fact that Alastor's sister was named Sophie before, but the similarities between the two were now a bit harder to ignore.

"I don't have any issue with the Quincy, or even toward the Vandenreich. Previous Captain Commanders haven't been so generous, but I think that's shortsighted. Even cruel, honestly. We did a lot wrong to the Quincy, and I think it's unfortunate that things have turned out like this."

It wasn't exactly a racial matter anymore, was it? The Vandenreich and the Gotei weren't enemies simply because of some blood feud. It was a matter of ideals now.

"Let me ask you a question, if you don't mind. What's your view on Vastime, as a nation? Removed from just this situation with Death."

She knew the Vandenreich's position, of course, at least in terms of their overall relations with said country. But that wasn't really what Murasaki was asking.