After Caius' "little" run in with the merged robot transformer thing that had stomped through several blocks in Sonora, cutting and slashing and stamping through everything in its path before he and Spiky had managed to put a stop to it - he hadn't thought for a minute that Sonora had literally just gone through yet another crisis shortly before. Apparently a large section of town had been wrecked by the fight between a group of people, and someone with a huge sword or something like that. Details were still yet to come out in full, though Caius was interested in what could have possibly happened. He'd need to check the news later.

For now though, his body was still a little run down from the fight. He'd taken his share of lumps, and his senses were still a little bit haggard after the stereo system from the transformer had nearly blown his ears off, and he could still hear the buzzsaws going for his head. Still, he was intent on getting to work today now that he had gotten some sleep. His first plan was to get some food in him, and then march out of town to check on Vordun. The dragon had taken his own share of lumps in the fight, even if the creature wouldn't be able to get credit for their contributions. Least he could do was make sure that Vordun was doing okay before he made serious headway. And he had every intention of rewarding their patience with food he'd be saving from his breakfast.

As he neared a place that looked like it was a decent eatery (Caius was still finding his way out of Sonora as of this writing, after all) a striking flash of orange hair crossed his vision, and his head darted toward the source. It was a woman in a maid uniform, dusting off the sidewalk. Perhaps he wouldn't have taken notice if not for the fact that there were only a scarce few people he knew with hair that striking. While the odds of it being anyone he knew were slim, as he didn't know any cafe sweepers, or whatever they called them in Sonora, she-

Cissnei. It was Cissnei.

He had looked to her face just out of curiosity, not expecting to see a face he knew, but there it was. He stepped back slightly, but calmly caught himself before he could fall on the sidewalk with a quick movement of his foot. Clearing his throat, he spoke up.

"New job?"

Cissnei had certainly been one of the last people that Caius had been intending to see here. Especially in a maid outfit. But here she was. She seemed to take the whole thing in good humor though, bringing up that it was a temporary job. He supposed he could see the merit in that. Finding steady work to fund her efforts. He realized he never had really gotten to learn much about her during his time with her, aside from the fact that she was some kind of Turk. His encounters with Umbrella and Freyra had colored the organization as some kind of covert operations unit belonging to the Shinra company that Cissnei had told him was hunting him down.

He decided not to bring up that he had been a bit cautious with Umbrella. Freyra had already told him that Umbrella had reunited with the other Turks safely, and that she was indeed one of them. So he had what information he needed on the subject. Any apologies could be addressed to the woman herself the next time he ran into her.

Cissnei brought up that the place next to them was closed, and he looked to the door with a bit of an annoyed quirk of his brow. How long had his nap been? He knew he had exhausted himself on the trip here, and with the fight with the robot house thing, but... Geez. Either this place closed early, or he had slept late. It was annoying, but it was what it was. Caius would just need to find somewhere else.

She asked him what brought him to Sonora, and if it was business. Then where he was going in such a hurry. "Well, a bite had been the plan. I exhausted myself on the voyage here, and it looks like I slept a bit longer than I would have liked" he admitted, scratching his head in turn. He decided not to mention the robot house thing. He didn't really want to talk about it. "I was hoping to take some mercenary work in Sonora exclusively for a little while. The Dragonblades don't have a whole lot of influence here, and I figured it was time to change that" he explained. He had been thinking he might start in the slums, work for smaller prices and help out the people there, then move up to more dangerous jobs as he went.

"Might be a bit late for that today, though. Might just grab a bite and explore for a little while, get the run of the city if I'm going to be putting up roots here for a bit" he added. Thinking about it, if Vordun was going to be on standby for so long, maybe it was best he sent him home, he realized. Sonora was cold. That cave Vordun was resting in was toasty enough, but Caius didn't know the area well enough to trust Vordun being there for too long. And while Caius had healed his wounds, who knew if he'd suffered something he didn't know about or could heal? No, it was best he sent Vordun back to the homestead by himself. With a letter to Celes asking to check on him, and keep an eye on him at the homestead. Caius had been planning to have Vordun's help on this expedition, but... He knew he had to look out for Vordun too. Worst case scenario, he could send a letter off to Celes to order him back to Sonora, if it was an emergency.

"If I might ask, what brings you out here? Is this where you've been operating from?" Caius inquired. He had last seen Cissnei the last few times more toward the Provo region, so she had ventured quite a ways to get here.

Caius was still nursing a serious headache after that robot house transformer had blasted that atrocious sound at incredible volumes right at him. It was going to be a bit until his ears worked to full capacity too, most likely. They still felt like he was underwater at times. But he tried not to show it too much, especially with Cissnei. He respected her greatly and had no desire to make her think that his slightly lessened enthusiasm was in any way related to him not being happy to see her. But he was tired, hungry and running a headache, so he couldn't project the cheer that he would like to with her.

Cissnei brought up that it wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world to operate here, considering the militant nature of the police force. The word "Dragon" might be an issue too, she pointed out. Rethinking his marketing strategy, huh? He scratched his head. "Tempting. But might get confusing for members and for those that travel between cities. I appreciate the idea, will definitely give it some thought" he thanked her, managing a smile. "But for now, I think I'll try doing as I said and just try to get the word out, see how that goes. Hasn't been many places that I've been to that haven't had work to be done. If I need to start a little smaller and work up at a slower rate with the police already handling things, to pave the way for the others, that's no big deal to me. And if it doesn't work and we need a new approach... Well, suppose I can look into it."

She offered to accompany him to find some food, and he nodded his head. "I'd definitely appreciate that" Caius responded. He didn't entirely know his way around the city, Cissnei would surely know a decent place a bit better and a bit faster than he would be able to find. Though she did bring up that she ran her investigation business here, and that he would be competing with her for business. He blinked a few times. "Huh. I guess I hadn't thought of that" Caius admitted. He'd come here only to help out people in a wider area with what they did. And help out his guild members who were located more toward the Sonora area. He hadn't meant to potentially step on anyone's toes. Especially not hers. He'd figured the differences between their jobs would leave plenty of market, too. She specialized in investigating. He specialized in hitting things.

Running a mercenary guild was a little more complex than he had thought. It had seemed simple enough in Torensten and Provo, but he supposed if there were other big fish in a similar market...

"I'm sorry to hear about your building" he brought up, frowning a bit. Was it the recent incident here that had done it? Or the robot thing? She said it had been bombed, which didn't really narrow it down. But if she had a new temporary building so soon, it was probably the former or something that happened around that time. He supposed this also explained why the place was closed so soon, if she was running the place and was still trying to run her regular business at the same time.

Cissnei needed a few to change, though also indicated if he was in a rush they could go now and she'd tolerate it. He smiled as he shook his head. "No need to rush on my account. I can wait a bit longer" he promised earnestly. "You'd find a proper place much quicker than I would on my own, anyway. And if I'm to burden you with my company, I'd at least prefer you be comfortable".

Caius sincerely did appreciate her business advice. He just wanted to try one approach first before trying another. He'd always keep this at the back of his mind, especially if things started not working out. But for now, he hoped he would be able to develop things here the same way he had elsewhere. If it didn't work out, he'd consider it, but he hoped for the best for his usual business strategy. At the least, it gave him the impression that this would be a much harder mission than in other cities. That was important. It just meant he had to work all the harder to make it work here.

Cissnei asked if there were other members here already. She was certainly asking quite a few questions, and he made a mental note regarding her possible intentions, but didn't voice them. "A few rookies, but not a huge presence as of yet. I'd like to make it easier for members who live in the area to find work, though" he responded curtly, thinking it was probably a safe answer to give without having to resort to lying.

Cissnei headed into her building and bade him to wait inside by the fire, which he gave a grateful nod toward before accepting. Walking shortly behind her, he would take the door when offered and walk inside. While she was off to change, he sat down before the fire with his legs crossed, holding out his hands to warm up. He was still getting used to Sonora's colder climate. He wasn't sure if he'd ever grow to actually like it. Eventually she returned, and he looked to see the black suit he was more used to. Getting to his feet, he gave her some room to snuff out the fire as he headed gingerly toward the door, though didn't go too far from Cissnei so as to make it seem like he was rushing away from her. She asked her question, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Not too picky at the moment. I haven't eaten much since yesterday afternoon though, so would definitely prefer something more filling" he admitted. He hadn't been able to get anything down after the deal with the robot, besides some drink. The battle had completely robbed him of his appetite.