"How does that make any sense then!"

The thing is, Zash knows a lot about how people in general are likely to behave, the traces of commonality in psychology, and that gives him a base to start from. Then, he has a sufficiently complete and, and holistic understanding of Nai as an individual to know how he differs from that and where, and to sort of see the currents of thought and emotion that are likely to be there, under the surface.

Now, Zash doesn't have a perfect, one-to-one copy of Nai living inside his head. Nai is the only Nai there is. But Zash's understanding of Nai is good enough that it takes very little observing Nai himself for Zash to draw correct conclusions about him.

That's magic. That's, like, actual magic.

.......Zash still can't hear him.

"Is everything going to go alright. If I stop hiding."

"That, little brother, I do not know. I'm not gonna get into the complicated stuff with you right now because I am busy and in a great mood and I don't want to ruin it. But I love you, and I missed you, and I'm glad you're doing okay."

Fuck this guy.

He stalks off.

He called that one in advance, too.

Fuuuuck yoooooooou!

Love you too, little brother!

He was still hiding!!! How did Zash know he was—fuck it. Fuck all of this. He's out.

Yvette has, in her typical fashion, done a rather nice job of setting up logistics. Everything in the underground portion is essentially already sorted. The major gaps are transporting the relief supplies to Jeneora itself from Nai's nearby underground garage, and how quickly the first shipment of plants would be sent after them. For the former the only vehicle capable of transporting supplies of that size and weight is, well. What looks like the exact robot that led to the rock's fall. So. That'll be awkward. This might be why his girlfriend left this gap, she was likely looking for something with a bit less history.

For the latter, it's just a matter of not having a timetable set up yet for when the Jeneora plant factory will be back online. She has a tidy schedule of future shipments already in the works, with space and wiggle room for changing what resources are being sent over depending on the situation on the ground.

Alright, then, seems like Zash's job here is being a source of BRUTE STRENGTH to carry stuff. ...he'd also have suggested Nai use telekinesis but, uh, he is absolutely not letting Nai be at all visible to the Jeneorans. Not right after he personally killed a bunch of their friends and family. So, BRUTE STRENGTH it is.

And charisma. Also that.

Anywho.

[so, I think we're pretty much ready to go?]

Yvette has, by this time, finished baking and frosting the bribery cupcakes. Well, the first set, anyway, there's another batch baking that's under Zazi's watchful eyes. ... Antennae. Whatever.

[I was trying to have everything ready before you got here! How'd I do?]

Nai's going to get a cupcake delivery before they head out, though. She hadn't said anything about Zazi getting all of the cupcakes, and it's only fair for her to get half to distribute as she wishes.

(Zazi personally is delighted by exact-words agreements like this and is a good sport about Yvette distributing her cupcakes however she wants.)

(Nai likes the cupcakes. He is very bewildered by this. He SUPPOSES his body plan is patterned after a human's and he didn't get rid of taste buds. So they taste nice. Also warmfuzzy because Yvette made them for him.)

[perfectly! I'm very excited.]

The idea was to try and teach Zazi about good will and the value of not being a rule lawyer who follows the letter of the rules while leaving the spirit out in the wastes to die. This is not working and really just seems to be fun for them, so, uh. Oops. Not that Zazi hadn't already been doing this sort of thing, but still.

Yvette is glad Nai likes the cupcakes. He gets two, and then the other four that are in Yvette's jurisdiction go to her and Zash on their way to Jeneora. Eeeeeeeeee they get to fix things eeeeeeeeeeeee she has no idea what she's doing besides her best but that's honestly been her experience with adulthood so onwards regardless!!

Are they gonna be carried by a robot? Because honestly that sounds like a really cool means of transport even if a car would be faster.

Technically speaking they are going to be in her car on an underground freight train-alike, which is faster than both car and robot. Then once they're at the station closest to Jeneora, they will be going the rest of the way by probably-car. And possibly robot for carrying supplies?? Yvette isn't quite sure how to handle that. Considering the likely, uh, trauma people will have over the robot in question.

—oh yeah no he meant to the drop off point, they are absolutely not bringing those robots anywhere near Jeneora proper. He'll carry stuff using BRUTE STRENGTH himself.

Oh. He knows how big the supply crates are, right, because they're... oh, yes, he looked at the specs. He can carry all of that?? That's insane, but okay. Sure.

... This does mean that they (well, he) will be walking, because her car is not cleared to carry the water in particular. She'll cram a bunch of ration packs into the back seat and trunk, but water is heavy, so. She guesses she does see why he favored walking on his own, even if it's inefficient.

Besides he bets the image will be great, the scrawny guy carrying a ton of incredibly heavy stuff by himself in the middle of the desert. He can't wait to see the Jeneorans' faces.

(There's an undercurrent of anxiety here that he's trying to quash. Maybe he doesn't deserve to do this but the important thing is that people get helped regardless of whether anyone deserves anything.)

Yeah. That would be pretty funny, wouldn't it.

(Her, too. Though it's less about what she might or might not deserve as... fear that she's missed something. It'll work, though, right? It has to work!!)

The trip to the drop off point is uneventful. Yvette's car is loaded down with all it can hold (mostly bulky items that aren't as heavy, though she can fit some water canisters in the back seat), and Zash... gets the rest.

It's kind of a lot.

He'll probably need multiple trips but that's fine, he doesn't need sleep. He gets started with the first haul.

(Aahhh his nerves are catching up with him now.)

Yvette will stick by Zash in her car, at his speed, because, um. She doesn't know what will happen if a lone woman in a car shows up in a place that's starving to death, but. While she's probably immortal now, or at least really hard to kill, she. Doesn't particularly want to test that.

(She tries to focus on the nostalgia of following behind him at snail speed, because it is genuinely a bit aesthetic to arrive in the place the same sort of way they left, but. .... Yeah, her nerves are catching up to her, too.)