"And remember, above all else, keep your mind focused at the task at hand. Don't waste energy when unnecessary and avoid distractions. Use your enviroment when available." Clarus stated loudly as he waited for Gladiolus to make his next move. The training hall sang a song of heavy clashing wooden swords as father and son spared. Gladiolus nodded as a bead of sweat made it's way down his face. "Ain't gotta tell me twice." Gladiolus responded, smirking before hurling himself forward. Another thunderous boom echoed down the hall as Clarus countered the attack. The training hall had been singing this song for the better part of an hour as the two Amicitia's sparred. Neither man willing to give any ground.
"Surprised you still have any fight in you at all old man." Gladiolus said through gritting teeth, gaining slight ground on his father. With a heave, Clarus was able to shove Gladiolus backwards as he then began to circle around his son, letting out a quiet laugh as his actions were immediately imitated by the younger Shield. "You didn't get your pretty looks from me boy." Clarus quietly laughed out before forward attacking. The two of them back into the midst of their training session as evening rolled in quickly
Down the hall, a young woman made her way towards the training hall carrying two fresh towels. Ignis was following closely as the two of them chatted. "You know Iggy, it isn't often that these two get to train together. I've yet to actually meet the young Shield. I wonder what it is that his Majesty might need at this rather late hour." the young woman said as she ran her fingers over the towels. The sound of her heels coupled with Ignis' steps hardly even audible as they came closer to the training hall.
"Yes, well. The Citadel is a large place with many employed. 'Tis easy to miss someone. I'm not sure what his Majesty may need though, Vitae. Perhaps we shall eventually find out. His Majesty seldom does things without purpose." Ignis stated.
"...unlike his royal Highness..." Vitae said as she laughed quietly towards Ignis.
"Unlike his royal Highness indeed." Ignis said letting a smile cross his face.
The two made their way to the doors of the training hall. Opening the door and gesturing for her to enter, Vitae bowed slightly before making her way in. Once Ignis had entered the hall and shut the door, it became immediately obvious as to how long this training session had gone on as the man-made humidity hit both himself and Vitae. Observing quietly, the two of them watched as the Amicitia's sparred. The two men seeming like giants as they wielded the large wooden swords with ease. Both Ignis and Vitae observed quietly for several minutes. Ignis loudly clearing his throat to try and distract the two battling men to no avail before Vitae took the initiative to take several steps forward, into the outskirts of where the two far larger men were sparring in an attempt to quietly distract them.
A loud clashing could be heard as the sight of a faded eagle on flesh quickly moved towards Vitae before disappearing behind her. "Don't worry. You won't get hurt." Clarus said quietly into Vitae's ear as she stood silently, clutching the towel she was holding a bit more snug. Gladiolus quickly made his way within several feet of his father who appeared to be holding Vitae hostage, or rather using her as a means to hide. Without warning, Clarus shoved Vitae forward into Gladiolus. The temporary distraction working perfectly for Clarus as his son did exactly what he expected he would do: catch Vitae, drop his guard momentarily, and take a second to see exactly who it was he had caught. As Gladiolus looked down at the figure he had caught he noted what appeared to be a deep, painful bruise that seemed to be hiding just under sleeve of Vitae's dress, barely over her collarbone. Without another second to spare he immediately felt a tight grip around his neck as his feet left the ground and he was moving backwards before the air left his lungs as he was slammed into the hard tile flooring.
Clarus laughed heartily as his son caught his breath on the ground. "Avoid. Distractions. It would appear you failed to do so" he said before turning his attention to Vitae "Are you alright my dear?"
"Falling into the arms of large tattooed men...I can think of far worse positions to be in" she said smiling as she handed Clarus the towel, the older man nodding in thanks as he wiped the sweat from his brow and helped his son off the floor. "His Majesty however, does request your presence sir."
A look of concern crossed Clarus' face. "In regards to what at this hour?"
"A private matter. Best to speak with him." Vitae said, her face giving away no real expression.
"Understood. Gladio, please take care of your sister tonight. I will be home later it would appear." Clarus said quietly before facing Vitae "You and I shall speak tomorrow." he said as he quickly exited.
Gladiolus lifted himself off of the tile, rubbing his throat and the back of his neck. He was certainly going to feel that in the morning. Vitae stepped forward and handed the large man the remaining towel in her hand, noting that both he and his father bore the same tattoo before averting her eyes elsewhere.
"Wonder what King Regis needs with dad." Gladiolus said, basking in the freshness of the towel in his hands.
"It's...hard to say at the moment. Best to avoid speculation and rumors." Ignis said.
Turning his attention to Vitae, Gladiolus smiled, "And to whom do I owe the pleasure of getting my ass handed to me by via my dad."
"Vitae. Vitae Scientia. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance mister-" Vitae said as she extended her hand towards the larger man initiating a handshake.
"Gladiolus Amicitia...Scientia? Sister to Iggy? Didn't even realize he had a sibling all these years. Can I assume that bruise you're hiding is from a sibling rivalry?" Gladiolus said lightly grabbing her hand. Ignis' expression growing cold at the words he heard.
"Cousins actually. And no. That was simply a training accident." Vitae said her hand still lightly grasped by Gladiolus.
"Hm. Well. Don't have any more accidents like that. Be a shame to see such nice skin turned black and blue." Gladiolus responded before lightly kissing her hand. His amber eyes never leaving her honey brown eyes, easily able to read the lie she was telling him as he smirked at her. "You heard the old man though guys. I gotta get outta here. I'm sure Iris is up to no good. I'll see you tomorrow Iggy. As for your Ms. Scientia. I hope to see you more often." He exited the training hall rather quickly as Ignis and Vitae walked out shortly after.
"Come Vitae. Let me take you home." Ignis said offering his arm for his cousin.
"It's only a short walk Iggy." she responded.
"Indeed. A short walk you won't be taking tonight."
The air in Insomnia was cool. The setting sun making Eos always seem far colder than it should ever be. Shuddering slightly at the cool air that entered Ignis' car, Vitae rolled up the passenger side window, sitting in near silence as Ignis drove her home. A look of displeasure plastered across his nearly unreadable face as he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment. Exiting the car himself, he quickly escorted Vitae out of his car as the two of them proceeded to walk into the building. Nodding at the greeter before taking the elevator up to her floor.
"I can only assume that Uncle has no idea of exactly what has been going on with you since you've begun your work." Ignis said.
"Iggy, you know he doesn't...I'm not sure I could face dad like this anyway. It doesn't matter though, as I ended that endeavor nearly a week ago." Vitae responded.
"Vitae...It's best you use what ever sense the gods have granted you and end this foolishness when it comes to uprooting information. Should you not, you'll sooner find yourself in an early grave." Ignis said sympathetically.
Vitae stared out the elevator. The glass that made up the walls giving her a view of the city that most people would never see. It certainly accentuated the look of the Citadel as it towered higher than the surrounding buildings. Once the elevator reached her floor, Ignis wasted no time in exiting before her again and offering an arm as he walked with her towards her apartment. The clean marble tiles that covered the floors, and painstakingly crafted wooden beams easily showing the amount of wealth that flowed through the building. It seemed no different than the architecture of the Citadel itself. Hesitantly, she made her way to the apartment with Ignis. As she reached for the door, Ignis gently pulled her back. "You and I both know that you have not now, nor have you ever undergone any sort of training to achieve such a horrendous looking bruise. Protect yourself Vitae. It's the very least you can do. Know when to end something" . Opening the door, Vitae reluctantly released the security blanket she'd found in Ignis. The apartment itself was equally as grand as the rest of the building. No expense spared what so ever in both decoration and aesthetics.
The apartment itself was kept relatively clean, although still maintaining a lived in appearance. Vitae walked straight for the kitchen, preparing a kettle. Looking towards Ignis, she lightly shook a glass jar filled with fragrant loose tea leaves. The Adviser had found himself studying a hole in the wall he was certain was not there the last time he had visited. Adjusting his glasses, he turned around and gestured for one cup of tea as he made his way towards the couch and seated himself lightly. As Vitae prepared the two of them a late evening drink, he observed everything in the apartment in great detail. Along with the hole that graced the wall, there was obvious signs of a struggle near by as the drywall seemed to bare indents.
"No sugar, correct?" Vitae said as she handed Ignis his glass.
"Correct indeed." Ignis responded as he took a sip "Were you able to gather any information on the situation at least?"
Taking a breath in, Vitae responded, "Yes...and no..."
The hour had grown far later. Both Amicitia siblings had enjoyed their dinner without their father present. His absences beginning to happen more and more frequently as the year continued on. What was once a monthly ordeal, began to happen at least a few times each month now.
"C'mon Gladdy! Is that the best you've got?!" Iris said teasingly as she tried her best to press her weight down into Gladiolus' back.
"You know.."he said as he lifted himself up in the push up position despite his sister attempting to weigh him down "I don't see your scrawny ass tryin' to do push-ups with grown ass adults sitting on you."
"Oh please. I'm not even that heavy." Iris said as she dug her seat bones down.
"Feelin' pretty fat to me." Gladiolus joked. In all honesty, his sister weighed less than any of his weapons did. Her weight was hardly a hindrance to him at all. Iris found herself being used as spare weight to Gladiolus' work outs many times throughout the years, and their banter was quite common, so much so that even the family butler, Jared, was easily able to recreate the scenarios nearly word for word.
The late evening had progressed to night and their father still had not arrived. Iris' face had been buried deep in her phone. Her shy smiles not going unnoticed by Gladiolus despite him being buried in a book himself. "Who're you texting that's got you all smiley." he said leaning over to see who she was messaging. Quickly burying her phone in her chest and leaping over the couch, she hurried out of her brother's reach. "None of your business!" she shouted as her phone sang it's notification song and her stern expression immediately turned to a grin.
"Better not be a guy." he said, smirking as he continued reading.
"I don't think that's any of your business." Iris said as she headed up the stairs.
"Never thought this day would come..." Gladiolus responded as he cracked his knuckles "...guess I gotta kick a teenage boy's ass."
"You're such a jerk Gladdy!" Iris said, laughing at her older brother as she rolled her eyes and made her way to her bedroom.
Another hour had passed as Gladiolus sat on the couch waiting for his father. The tick tocks of the clock feeling as though they were going agonizingly slow. His patience would however, pay off as the sound of his father's vehicle could be heard pulling in to the front of the home. Walking into his home, the exhaustion was immediately apparent.
"Man. They're definitely workin' you to the bone old man." Gladiolus said rising up from his seat and slowly fetching beers for both he and his father.
"One of the many things I'm sure you'll deal with soon enough Gladio." Clarus responded as he caught the bottle tossed towards him and wasted no time drinking down.
"Hey. If it comes with the perks of pretty little assistants, I think I'll be okay. Although, I think I would enjoy one not related to Iggy." Gladiolus said jokingly.
"Assistant? You're speaking of Ms. Vitae Scientia I assume. She's no assistant of mine son, though she certainly plays the part quite well. She's something more akin to a spy. And that is something that MUST stay silent between you and I. Understood?" Clarus said, watching as his son took a bit more interest than he would have liked him to.
"Huh. Didn't realize we even needed that sort of thing still. But yeah. I hear ya. How long has she been up to that sort of work?" Gladiolus asked.
"For us? Nearly four months. There is never a time for a kingdom of any sort to truly function without spies of sorts in my opinion. With rising tensions from Niflheim, we need all eyes and ears where we can get them. And I had done a relatively good job keeping her out of your sight, until today that is." Clarus said almost in a defeated tone as he unlatched the buckles keeping his heavy heavy cape drapped over his shoulders. He watched as his son retracted deep into his own thoughts. "Should you be that interested in meeting her, I will be happy to arrange something a bit more discreet."
"Meh. I'm sure I'll see her around when I do." Gladiolus responded.
As the hour grew later, both men eventually retired to their respective bedrooms, tired from the typical goings on of the Citadel. Although he did somewhat regret his response to his father, he was infact interested in meeting Vitae in a manner that didn't involve him being slammed downward into hard marble floors. He racked over the image he had of her in his brain, but due to such a quick meeting between them, he wasn't able to fully remember what exactly it was she looked like. The only images he truly remembered, were honey brown eyes, and a deep bruise. Not exactly his idea of a wonderful image. If she had managed to stay hidden in plain sight for nearly four months, he would have to keep his eyes more readily peeled.