With a tired sigh and half-hearted wave backwards, Nia trudged her way out of Stardust -- her place of work, of all things -- and into the unforgiving bowels of Minimum. It had been in the morning hours when she had left home (a time under the lasting ends of night sky), but it was most definitely late afternoon now; the streets were filling, growing busy with joy in those released from the clutches of education. They were kids, most of them-- young, rowdy in the way that Hiatus and Errors could never afford to be, 'kind of like how Castor and Alya used to be, aren't they? And probably just as (affectionately) stupidly idealistic.' She seemed to remember them more, lately; but she had always been haunted by the nostalgia, so nothing goes to say. 'Just melancholy at its' finest, unfortunately.' It was probably fortunate that Nia had lost the pain that used to come with the memories, somewhere over the years. Not that any would help her now, or that blaming herself ever would have.
There wasn't much to shake herself out of, but -- upon finishing her (now) lukewarm coffee and boarding the 2:23PM train -- Nia turned to the talk of most Hiatus that day: the Big Fours' meeting down at the Truce Zone. It wasn't difficult to guess the outcome with or without experience, shit was most definitely going to hit the fan that night. She couldn't think of a time when the Landers and Sonics didn't end up butting heads literally every time they saw each other, and god forbid that this be the appropriate place to start. Even Nia stayed the fuck away from the Cheshire Cat (but not necessarily her chronies) whenever she could. 'That right there? A mess that I'm not touching with a ten foot pole, no matter how fucking annoying her opposition might be.'
Whatever it was between Ryota and the Ainsley Cat, she never wanted to know.
It was twenty minutes to three when Nia stepped onto East Minimum ground, a minuscule amount more relaxed buried under the sound made by a crowd. She shifted the conspicuous staff-shaped bag across her shoulders and made for home, already mildly antsy for the meeting to come. As unafraid of her own safety as she was, this kid was, as she put it, 'entirely unappreciative of throwing every other Sonic into a pit of vipers'. As much as she didn't care about people that much, Nia would rather not lose her gang mates (or have them in a vegetative state, like a certain someone).
But, in any case, Error life never granted anyone a choice. And, as she stepped onto the beach -- home to Sonic Boom --, she resolved to ignore the threat of imminent death once more. A soldier never discourages himself outside the field or purposely debilitates himself in battle, or something like that. She supposed it didn't really matter, and promptly crashed in her room until four-thirty (Edwin's call); in which case she got up, groggily made coffee in the machine, (if time permitted, showered), and left accordingly with the rest of the best (so to speak).
Standing behind Ryota and to the left of Edwin, Nia remained still; almost relaxed as she waited, eyes darting from one gang to another. As much as it wouldn't make too much sense for things to really break out (that would prompt Core, not to mention a massacre in and of itself), she was evidently on edge-- the tension in the room seemed to run that way. At least it seemed as if it there would be more than Edwin and Nia running interference between the Sonic and Lander powerhouses, 'Liam, for one, and any other gang that doesn't want a riot or destruction on their hands. Logically, anyway.'
"Commence the Mad Tea Party."
Nia showed little to no reaction to both Edwin and Liam's subsequent Error activations (although, to the latter-- 'Show off.'), but grew more alert; almost itching for the double-ended spear in the case on her back. There was little left to do, by then, other than to listen semi-attentively at the Azura's words; nothing particularly surprising, considering the nature of the Error-Core relationship. She supposed that the best (or more) was yet to come, something big enough to warrant the need for a large-scale meeting; and thus did nothing but silently pay attention until there was a call to action.