The door leading out of their section began to move. Janus and Itzel’s eyes darted to the metal hatch that slowly lifted upwards. As the door slid upwards, Janus noticed the crispy black dress pants and shoes that stood with the feet angled away from each other. The rest of the figure was slowly revealed as the door continued to rise; the man's ensemble consisted of an open black blazer on top of an white dress top complete with frills and lace travelling up the middle. The man was large and had wide shoulders, his height stopping just a few inches shy of the top of the door.

His face was square. Short yet tidy blonde stubble covered the bottom of his face. The dark golden strands of his hair were pulled back and fastened into a ponytail that dangled behind his back. The man's clear blue eyes quickly moved among the other three inside the section before stopping at the luggage placed in the corner. He gave the Itzel and Janus a slight smile and a swift wave.

"Hey there," he said softly before taking a step forward. Itzel replied by acknowledging the man's salutation with a small nod of her head. Janus waved back, giving a soft "Hello" in return. Gurk remained too focused on the programming on the projector to pay any mind to the fellow passenger. 

As the suited man travelled further into the Transporter, he revealed a young woman waiting in the hallway right behind him. She was significantly shorter than the man that had just entered by over a foot. Her dress was long and elegant; the skirt was large and round towards the bottom, the diameter almost matching the width of the entryway. The orange-yellow cloth of the dress had intricate folds and embroidery scattered across from it. The matching jacket she wore was buttoned up over her chest contained a myriad of complex patterns and white lace along the hem. 

The woman's face looked reminiscent of the first man that had entered; her hair was an identical shade as well as her porcelain skin. Her hair dangled behind her at roughly the same length, but instead of tying it up in a ponytail, she let it let flow freely against her back. She too smiled at the other passengers, giving everyone else a wave with her white gloved hand while adjusting her wide brimmed hat with a small bouquet at the top using her other hand. However, instead of heading towards the back where the luggage was, the woman made a line straight for Gurk.

"I recognize you," the woman said in a soft and quiet voice. Gurk slowly turned his head and looked back at the woman. 

The crocodile pointed at himself with his thumb. "Me?" he asked. 

The woman giggled. "Of course you! I also recognize the rest of your team but you're the one that stuck out the most to me."

"Yeah?" Gurk replied.

The woman nodded. "The way you handled Siergi was incredible! I have never seen him lose to someone that's so... big... and focused on close range grapple moves!" Her eyes got wider as she pressed her hand against her chest. "Here I thought Siergi was unbeatable!" Janus kept a tab on Itzel from the corner of his vision. He could just barely make out her rolling her eyes. 

"Me too!" Gurk replied. The crocodile stood himself upright and looked down at the young woman that stood more than just a couple feet shorter than him. She smiled as she took a step back, looking both intimidated and impressed by the person in front of her.

"We were impressed by that fight you put on!" the gentleman in the corner said. "My daughter here sent you a sizable Contribution once the match had ended."

"Thanks!" Gurk said.

"What made you decide to give Gurk so much money?" Itzel asked as she looked at the young woman. "Not that I'm complaining. I just never really understood this whole 'Contribution' mentality."

"I don't need the Tokens," the other woman replied calmly. "I just thought it would be a nice little treat for someone that put on such an entertaining show!"

"That rich, huh?" Itzel said bluntly while still leaning back in her seat. 

"Excuse us for not introducing ourselves," the father got up from his seat in the corner and headed towards Janus. He stretched out one hand that Janus soon shook. "We are the Grani family. I'm Magson, but you can me Mag for short. And that's my daughter, Sheila." Sheila smiled and waved one hand towards the two sitting along the booths. 

"The Grani family, huh?" Itzel said. "What are you two doing heading out to a place like Sano Mosado if you don't mind me asking?"

"We live right outside its borders," Mag replied. "It's easier for us to just charter a Transporter to that town and head home that way."

"We just came back from a Carrier Dealership one city over. The Transporter route just happened to pass through the Labrisson terminal," Sheila added. Mag placed an arm across his daughter's back and brought in close with a sideways hug.

"Sheila's birthday is coming up and we decided to go all out on her little ‘surprise!" Mag laughed as he hugged his daughter tighter. 

"Sounds awesome," Itzel replied with a straight face.

"How old will you be?" Janus said quickly when he saw a look of surprise appear on Sheila's face after hearing Itzel's response. 

"Oh. I'll be twenty tomorrow!" The smile quickly returned and she appeared more enthused than before. 

"She more than deserves it! My daughter has been hard at work these past few years. Isn't that right Sheila?" Mag asked.

"Of course, father! Studying has been so tiresome these past couple of years. It's nice to finally get a moment to breathe and just... be myself for a while."

"You need a brand new Carrier to do all that?" Itzel asked.

"Absolutely," Sheila said as she pressed her hand against her chest. "I can't just go taking public transportation everywhere."

"Yeah. Of course not. Because we all know public transportation is only for the lower classes of Tersaia."

"Exactly!" Sheila said with closed eyes and a smile.

"What are you studying, Sheila?" Janus blurted out. He glanced at Itzel briefly and saw her look back at him. "I'm always interested in finding out what others’ academic pursuits are."

"At the moment I am studying morphology of carnivorous and predatory organisms."

Janus nodded his head. "I see. That's a very specific field. What made you decide to focus on that?"

"That'll be a long discussion," Mag said. "Why don't you come join us on our side of the section? We'd be more than delighted to tell you all about Sheila's studies with a seat."

"I'd be inclined," Janus said. He began to slide over towards the end table before stopping midway to look back at Janus and Itzel. "Are you guys going to join?"

"Sure!" Gurk said.

"What about you, Itzel?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not? Anyone that's a friend of Gurk is a friend of mine too now, I guess."

Art Spotlight: Magson Grani