"That's not what I mean, I just--" Well, that is how it came out, didn't it? Now that Aya thinks about it, her abnormal lifestyle doesn't seem like something one would find outside of fiction, either. She sighs and shakes her head. "Sorry."

She just nods as Umiko carries on, taking in all of this new information pretty much in stride. As much as Aya would like to return home as soon as possible, she assumes that if she completes whatever task she's here for she'll return to her old life. Then things can go back to business as usual. But first she needs to know what's up, and who to talk to, and where she's likely to get reliable information. Cid's name definitely didn't come up as one of the list of people, and now she knows why.

"'Holding up'? How do you mean? What's going on at the observatory?"