Out of the Ice [Johann, Maaya]

The Gotei's dissolution had caused a ripple effect across the World of the Living. Whatever had caused it was ultimately irrelevant and unimportant. The Vandenreich, now Wahrender, had work to do, evermore than they did previously, something that had taken him to Africa to oversee a particular area with an uptick in Hollows, an area where one of the Gotei's stations had been, now barren after many chose to leave through their organization's dissolving.

However, it seemed that there was finally a moment of quiet in the days after his arrival, and Johann had since left his subordinates for a short time, quietly moving along a stream of Reishi. Eventually, he came to a simple walk outside of a city, cane in hand as he took time to ask around for information regarding any Hollows or Arrancar that may have been sighted, as well as any other issues that the Wahrender could assist with.

Thankfully, beyond a few things that his other subordinates either already were or could take care of, this place was just as quiet as the station had been. That, above everything else, was something he was grateful for. They could handle these issues well when civilians weren't involved, when they weren't in danger. Though, he had little doubt that this momentary peace would last for long.

While he had just been grateful of the quiet, as Johann tried to move further into the area, the more crowded everything became. He'd try to turn his body one way to slip through, only to get bumped and pushed into someone else. While he was far from unfamiliar of how cities could often be, he hadn't expected them to get so crowded so quickly.

It seemed, however, that he wasn't the only one seeking asylum, though he wasn't too certain if she was fleeing something, or simply caught up in the crowd like he had suddenly been. His head tilted lightly, before Johann slowly made his way through the crowd, eventually getting into Al-Azhar. He straightened his clothes, before venturing further in, the noise of the crowd and road thankfully becoming quieter the more he did.

He looked around, trying to spot that woman he had noticed before, his brow furrowed in concern. He did, however, finally find her, and, cane in hand, approached her, his expression still reflecting his concern.

"Excuse me, miss," He said, a hand calmly resting on his cane. "Is everything okay? I noticed you in the crowd, and you seemed to be in a bit of a frenzy, though I didn't want to make any rash assumptions."

Her tone and look caused the old man's brow to furrow more, his look of concern changing to one of caution, with a touch of confusion as she asked about his cross.

'Rather perceptive, this one, He thought. 'Although she doesn't seem too pleased with me, for whatever reason.'

Johann thought for a moment as he kept a cautious, but calm gaze on the woman, his fingers idly flexed to reset their grip on the end of his cane. There were any number of possibilities of why she was asking for something so specific, but, hiding his cross or lying about it would hardly be of any benefit.

"I don't use a cross," He said, lifting his other hand from his side. "Though, I do indeed have one."

He turned the back of his hand to Maaya, revealing his family's signet ring, a sapphire as the embedded stone, with the Quincy symbol in the center. It was little more than a personal memento, a remaining symbol of the pride he held in his family and their legacy.

Evolved beyond a 'mere cross'? That caused Johann to raise an eyebrow, his head turning to the side ever-so-slightly as she looked away, seeming to want to avoid him entirely. His gaze shifted to his hand, then his fingers curled

"Many, dare I say most, still use them," He said, lowering his hand back to his side. "Some just have other options available."

Crosses, for him, was still by and large the norm. There were some that had been able to utilize a Sanrei Glove, like himself, but their focus of power still remained the same, even after all this time. Some were simply...more creative with it, at times.

"'Survived,' yes, though I would not say 'flourished,'" He said, his voice holding a hint of somberness, quick to clear itself out as he continued. "Influence, however, can not be placed on Quincy alone. Hollows and Arrancar have become more widespread across the globe."

Met with silence. Not unusual, but not exactly making anything easy to work with. Curious, especially since she had been the one to ask about his cross, yet had no response for it. She had been curious about something as fundamental as a tool that Quincy used, despite evidently not being one, but had no response to the mention of other avenues?

Johann's head moved ever so slightly, tilting backwards and to the side a smidgen as he watched her expression shift, his fingers quietly tightening their grip on his cane as a precaution. Judging from her expression, he seemed to have done something to offend her, though he wasn't certain as to what. In contrast, though, Johann's expression remained calm, though the concern and warmth it had mere moments ago had faded into that of a neutral, albeit somewhat stern look.

"Nonetheless, it is good to see that you're well," He said, taking a step away from her as one hand moved to rest atop the other. "Why exactly were you so interested and insistent on seeing my cross?"