Caution, Highly Flammable [Bambietta, Alastor]

France again, eh? In a way, Bambietta had been fairly ready to never actually come back here, but she supposed it was honestly inevitable that she would, especially with a career path like this. Still, coming down here on patrol as a shinigami was way better than getting sent in during the war, especially if she got to come out here to Savoy instead of Paris. This was way nicer than what she'd been used to.

"You ever spend any time around here, Alastor? I've never come around here. Heard about it growing up, though."

Bambietta walked along the shores of Lake Annecy, her focus rather sharp despite the casual conversation she was holding. She'd been assigned to join in on this patrol and keep a close eye on any potential spiritual establishments by either Shadow Fall or Vastime during both occupations. She somehow doubted there would be any, especially here in a relatively rural part of France, but she still made sure to keep her senses up.

"Occasionally on a patrol, didn't get out much as a kid despite growing up in the sticks."

He answered while poddering along, a little airheaded really despite the fact this was a patrol. What was once a struggle with hollows had become quite easy in the years that he'd been a substitute shinigami.

Thinking about it, he felt pretty comfortable getting about in his human body as well though he avoided bringing it along knowing Bambietta's history. He didn't want to get caught in a stray Hadō and have to explain to Murasaki that he was now a full-time shinigami rather than a substitute.

"Why? Don't care for places outside of a city?"

Probably was boring. Less things to blow up but Alastor liked being out and about more. Out here there was less concern about getting someone caught in the cross fire but far less hollows from the lower density of souls.

"Psh. Pretty much the opposite, honestly. You ever been to Paris? It's gross."

It wasn't as if Bambietta had any fond memories of her upbringing, and the city was mostly just dirty and filled with trash. Even in the parts that were supposed to be nice, it was all just trash. Oh well. By comparison this was all a lot nicer, and she took a second to watch the lake as she took another reading of the spiritual status of the area.

"Stuff out here is nicer. I guess it's a little quiet for me, but there's a little sense of community in all these villages, know what I mean?"

That was admittedly one of the things that had struck Bambietta a lot about her travels. The idea of a genuine sense of attachment to the people around you, for reasons other than just broad nationalism. It was something she'd missed, though in a way, she couldn't say she'd seen it in a long time to begin with.

"Yeah, that's about right. It is a cesspool."

He said while staring up at the clouds, turning every so often to keep an eye on her. A glance here and there at this and that. He cocked his head though at her words going to a topic he wasn't exactly expecting by her discussing the distinctions between the city verses rural life. More deep than he tended to get with other shinigami during assignments like this.

"The quiet's good you know, it gets annoying when there's a lot of noise and everything is happening all the time."

If he were a smarter guy he might've read a bit more that his words could've been interpreted to being a subtle suggestion to shut up. Not really though, he wasn't that malicious unless something provoked him and she had done nothing to get him riled up.

Bambietta laughed at such a description of Paris, though she didn't disagree with it at all. If anything, she was just glad to hear someone not talking about it like it was the height of culture or whatever nonsense people always said about that place.

"Think so? I don't mind the quiet or anything, but when it gets too quiet it starts to feel a little empty, know what I mean? I'm not really into the idea of hermit life or anything."

That was, in fact, one of the biggest reasons she'd avoided joining the 7th Division. She liked the idea of traveling around, but doing so alone like they apparently did with decent regularity sounded nothing short of hellish. Plus, if she was being completely honest, she wasn't entirely sure she trusted herself alone just yet anyway.

He didn't think much of the take, he was the type that did appreciate company but found that it was nice to escape a little bit into the wilderness or more remote areas for these patrols. He might've been based in more populated areas if he were specifically watching for hollows but he preferred keeping his eyes out for remnants of activity from the war.

"Just talk to your zanpakuto if you get lonely."

It was becoming more than just a idle thought at the back of his mind that Bambietta was persistent with wanting his attention. Questions, saying stuff like this and it didn't take a genius to figure out. While he could be more proactive about filling that need for company, it did make him think. She sure wasn't in the same category of Elyss where he viewed her as a good friend over a hot babe as he did when they met.

Bambietta was just that though but if he also thought about it, if he was single he probably couldn't imagine chasing her. She seemed like the really clingy type.

"How's the area looking?"

He said to change the topic a little while looking about a bit more. His reikaku was fine but a trained kido expert over his preference for getting up close and personal or using Shokyakutenri would probably have a much greater insight.

"It's not too talkative, honestly."

Bambietta wasn't an idiot, by any stretch, and she could at least tell that Alastor wasn't terribly interested in interpersonal small talk for now. Well, that was a shame, but they could pick things up later when they weren't working. Her attention turned to her readings again, taking another moment to study everything.

"It doesn't seem like there's much. I didn't expect there to be, this whole area's really out of the way. Some lingering energy in general from demon presence and all of that, but it's just ambient stuff."

She took a bit to study it again, scratching her head briefly as she did so.

"I dunno. I'm definitely picking up a few weird readings, but it's not anything I'd be expecting from Shadow Fall or from Vastime."

"Then we'll go investigate it."

He said while shrugging Shokyakutenri from his shoulder and shifting himself to carry the zanpakuto in his hand for the sake of easier access if it turned into something more than a peculiar spot of Bambietta.

"C'mon then, lead the way short stuff."

Alastor said impatient to see what was going on.

She didn't really mind being called that, especially given the actual height difference between the two of them. Bambietta was a lot of things, but self-conscious wasn't really one of them, at least not about her appearance.

"Off we go then, sub buddy."

Bambietta's grin as she led the way was a bit confident, her own zanpakuto carried in hand in case anything went wrong. Of course, she was actually quite prepared for any serious situation, her whole body tensed and ready for action despite her generally upbeat overall demeanor.

"Mmm... I think it's actually in the lake."

Sighing, she began muttering an incantation, a faint bubble of her energy appearing around the two of them. She didn't exactly mind going for a swim, but it would be easier to search for something if they didn't need to worry about looking through the water. Gesturing for him to follow, she simply walked into the lake, the water parting around them and, once they were deep enough, covering them again as they walked.

"In the lake? Eh?"

That was a pain in the ass, was there going to be some freaking monster that he had to fight underneath the water? Alastor just grumbled to himself while he followed along. Shokyakutenri would be at a disadvantage underwater as well, what a pain in the ass.

"Make sure it's bright enough to see down here. I can't be screwed dealing with the darkness."

He grumbled while looking around the water, at least he could swim but he didn't fancy some trouble down here. He liked it simple and this had the potential to be a mess.