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[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
"...I don't get it. Why am I so empty?" Her eyes scanned the letter once more before she listlessly dropped it to the side. She really should've been happy. The bitch was dead, she had won by default. Sure it wasn't anywhere near as satisfying as doing it herself, of seeing Brienne's eyes mirror even a fraction of the pain and fear she'd endured her whole childhood. But she had won.

Or had she?

Ten long years she'd spent on this. Ten long years carefully plotting, nigh on fantasizing, about how she would finally slay the wicked witch. And just like that, all that time and energy was rendered moot by an unforeseeable roll of the dice. And what had she gained for her troubles?
    "Nothing..." she whispered, "I spent all this time obsessing over it, and in the end I didn't even get to do it myself. A decade of my pathetic life, wasted in an instant. Ironic, isn't it Amicus?"
    There was no response. Her weapon sat as inanimate as always. She didn't care, the question had been entirely rhetorical.
    "Even so, I should be glad. Even if I didn't get to take her out, that's one less for me to deal with. But I'm just empty now. Wasn't this what I always wanted?"
    Wasn't it? If so, why had this been the first time in a while she'd actually thought about it? Not terribly long ago she couldn't have gone a day without reflecting on her mission, her self-assumed purpose. But ever since that battle with the Dame Supreme, she'd seemed to have gradually neglected that daily- sometimes hourly -ritual without even noticing. Memories of all that had happened in these past few months flickered by. Leah and Patricia coming back to save her. How terrified she'd been for them, how much she had felt obligated to protect them in turn. Her accepting Brigitte as her one and only sister. Being asked to be the Beloved and seeing all their faces at the wedding. How angry she had gotten when she'd been forbidden from fighting alongside her meisters. The unlikely friendship that had been sparked by Vulgara pulling her aside and giving her a desperately needed reality check.

"...Wasn't it?" She shook her head even as she weakly whispered the question one last time. She remembered how she had felt as a little girl. All the times she had spent scared, helpless and alone. Those days felt so far away now. Like a different life altogether in some ways. "No. no... it wasn't what I wanted. It was just what I settled for because I could never have what I really wanted. But that.. was then. This is now."

She took a deep breath to steady herself, and folded the letter before tucking it away in her pocket. Then she set about her business again.

"I don't need to settle for revenge anymore. The rest of you sorry bitches can spend the rest of your lives wallowing in misery, but I'm done."

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

A small grin tugged up at the corner of Kirari's mouth. It vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, and even she wasn't certain how intentional that was. "Major, I'm afraid I have some bad news." She held out one of the skirts in question toward Monika, ensuring its length was easy to judge. "It appears that the enemy has arrived before us."

After waiting a moment for her commanding officer's reaction, she veered into a different topic. "I believe I should carry your weapon, by the way. An unknown meister is less suspicious if she appears to be a bodyguard, and if fighting breaks out, they will not expect it to be yours." She unbuttoned her clothing as she spoke, moving through the room away from Monika to create the illusion of modesty. "It's doubtful that they will examine mine closely enough to tell what it is."

She thought about the garment as she changed, in part to distract herself from the fact that her commanding officer was getting an eyeful of her underwear for the sake of expediency. The holy weapon was unassuming, hardly suited to the term at all. A humble traveling companion to keep her safe from a world that wanted her gone, and rightfully so. Passing beneath notice, content to simply live peacefully. What I could have been. Something wrenching and unfamiliar rose within her, and she tore herself away from that line of thought before it could pull her down. "I just need to focus. . ." she mumbled, seemingly unaware she'd made any sound at all.

Lunete

She gestured to Shinko to follow her as the Katrians walked to their next destination, listening to their chatter for useful tidbits of information. It seemed Ishma had given them permission to stick their greasy fingers where they pleased - that, or they were even more brazen than she realized. Neither answer made the former rebel happy, especially as she caught the last words said by the older meister. A flash of irritation jumped across her face; it may have been the truth, but it was only because Lanica had never been allowed to organize itself. If it wasn't Neridus installing tyrants, it was Katria toppling leaders, and for what? Political games.

That mindset had shaped her own. There was no purchase for trust within her mind when it came to anyone acting on the behalf of the numerous meddling powers. Only close friends and soon-to-be-corpses could be trusted, and the former were in short supply indeed.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

"... You've gotta be shitting me" Monika muttered as she looked upon the detestable uniform, ultimately letting out a frustrated sigh as she took her own spare set. Sometimes she wondered if she was the only one who understood the practicality of pants, being far more comfortable, easy to maintain, and still doing a remarkable job of keeping up appearance. But no, she had to be stuck with yet another skirt, this one even shorter than the one she had to endure before.

Truly, fate was a cruel mistress at times.

Thankfully, most of Monika's dread was by Kirari speaking once again, suggesting that she be the one to carry Monika's weapon, all while switching into the uniform. Though Monika admittedly did halt for a few moments to watch Kirari as she did so, the Major quickly nodded, making sure the door to the dorm was closed before taking off her civilian clothes with a bit more haste than what would be expected, slipping into her own uniform, "True, true. One Meister would be easier to explain than two" she agreed, putting the finishing touches on her uniform (namely patting down the skirt portion to try and make it as straight as possible) before turning around, ignoring if Kirari had done the same or not.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

Fortunately (or perhaps the reverse from Monika's perspective,) she turned to find Kirari arranging her scarf, outfit change completed. She tugged at the end of the garment to ensure it was secured before reaching for the halberd. It was an unfamiliar weight, something she'd rarely had occasion to carry and very unlike her own. Kirari hefted it with one, and then both hands, getting a feel for the balance. She'd just have to do her best to mime Monika's posture with the weapon in lieu of true familiarity. "Now to the officer's dorms?"

[Glass]

Silvia

Silvia decided to step back and let Mirala do the talking. She'd already put her foot in her mouth once, and it was becoming increasingly clear that she didn't have the experience with this sort of... not even a real bureaucracy, really. This was just a mess, trying to figure out bureaucracy. Better to stand back, listen, and learn.


Jessie

"Yeah, she's with me."
Jessie thinks for a moment, then turns to the girl. "I can't just keep calling you 'kiddo' and stuff. What's your name? If you're ok with sharing it, of course."

All the while, she kept making her way to the pickup location.

[Takosher]

Silvia

"We are diplomatic envoys from Katria, we've come to check your records and ensure everything is in order." Mirala announced.

The girl at the desk looked like she might cry. "Oh. Ishma said you might be coming. Um, feel free to look around I guess."

"Thank you." Mirala said with a short bow. She beckoned Silvia to follow and then waded into the mess.

Although things were sloppy, Silvia could see the beginning of a pattern if she looked hard enough. Three somewhat cohesive file categories existed: people, places, and events. She could narrow her search by focusing on one of those, although it was hard to say exactly what she was searching for.

[Chevaleresse]

Lunete

The woman ceased her casual lounging once the two Katrians were properly inside the room. "Ishma, what are you thinking? Lanica can't rely on goodwill to save her." She mused aloud without fully realizing it, wondering at the woman's intentions. "They may have helped us once, but that doesn't make them our allies. Right, Shinko?" She paused as if she were waiting for the girl's response; in reality, she was still turning the situation over in her head. "Of course, we should repay our debts. . . assuming Katria can ever be convinced that we've done so."

Lunete's cognitive ambling eventually hit upon something productive. She'd been ordered off the Katrians, and didn't want to expose herself; she wasn't out of place among her fellows, but neither was she hard to pick out of a crowd if one was trying to do so. However, there was a certain unassuming, mousy girl who was near incapable of posing a threat to anyone. . . save for her being a set of eyes and ears. "Say, Shinko. There's a lot of paperwork to sort through, right? You should help the girls in there, and maybe you could learn something useful, if you catch my drift."

[Takosher]

Eilyth

There was a soft knock on the doorframe that heralded Brigitte's arrival. "Are you doing okay?" she asked gently. She'd gotten the same letter, but it wouldn't have meant the same things to her.

Jessie

"I'm Farore." the girl answered between chomps of chocolate, "But you can call me God. What's your name, Miss Kidnapper?"

The alleyway where Hellia was waiting wasn't far, but wading there through the crowds would still take a while. Jessie might have just enough time to get to know Farore before handing the girl over to her less scrupulous teammates.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
"Okay enough, I guess..." that was about as best as she could put it, as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I...this isn't... really what I ever expected. I'm not even sure what I feel right now. What about you? It's a pretty big shock right?"

[Takosher]

Eilyth

Brigitte tried to look calm, but Eilyth could see the stress creeping through her sister's features like a poison. "I stopped caring about Brienne a long time ago." she said, "She was far away from me emotionally, I didn't have to be afraid of her if I ignored her. But..." Tears started to well up in Brigitte's weary pink eyes. She walked up to Eilyth and wrapped the dragon in a hug. And then she let it all out "Why do I feel so empty?" she asked. Sobs wracked her fragile body and her tears streamed over Eilyth's shoulder. "Eilyth why can't I feel anything? She was my sister, I should be sad. I hated her, I should be happy. It was too easy, I should be angry. But I don't feel any of it, I just feel cold."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
She looked on with mild surprise as Brigitte described that same gnawing emptiness. So she wasn't the only one...
    "I don't know, Brigitte," Eilyth admitted, "but I do get what you mean, you're not alone. It's... all a confusing mess. The emptiness just makes it worse. I hated her too, right down to core of her black beady little heart... thought I'd at least be happy to see her go. If not happy, figured I'd get to feel angry she got such an easy out compared to all the suffering she caused. But I don't feel any of it either."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

For the most part, Monika didn't particularly mind the fact that Kirari had fully dressed herself already, seeing as how there was a bit more important things to do than admiring someone she had known for quite some time know. But, once Kirari had finished testing out Monika's weapon, the Major nodded, making her way over to the door and opening it up, stepping outside with a quick look down the hallway, "Yeah, we've still got more exploring to do" she commented, taking note of if the hallway was clear or not before moving on.

[Takosher]

Monika and Kirari

The stairs up to the officers' quarters were guarded, and unlike previous guards, these men were clearly alert.

"Sorry ladies, only senior staff allowed upstairs today." one of them said, holding up his hands to tell them to stop, "Research staff is no bueno."

Eilyth

Brigitte kept sobbing, unable to draw forth anymore words.

Another figure stood in the shadow of the doorway, watching quietly. Leah, with a look of sympathy on her face.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

Kirari raised an eyebrow, the expression tugging up the faded scar tissue below. "I think there was a miscommunication regarding the schedule." She took two steps back, opening her stance slightly as if to yield the initiative to Monika. ""Of course, it is very urgent that we get to our destination at once."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
Eilyth said nothing in regards to Leah's presence. The sound of Brigitte's quiet sobs were the only thing that broke the otherwise deafening silence that drew between them as she stood there, staring. The dragon's expression was largely inscrutable, partially given the circumstances she had just described to her sister, but just as much because she was still trying to get a bead on what Leah was hiding. There were many things to be asked, and the effort required to push this deep into enemy territory had left her little time to corner her former captain and ask them. But even she had enough tact to let it lie for now.

But her gaze said it all nonetheless. They couldn't keep playing this game, sooner or later she'd have to reveal what she had drawn Eilyth into. Even if for Brigitte's sake, she would not press that reveal right now.