Special thanks to Shinn, Angel-no-Crux, and LockmanCapulet for your reviews on our first chapter. Also thanks to mechSpeck who favorited and followed the story, in addition to Angel-no-Crux and LockmanCapulet doing the same. Your support means a lot, and I hope you all continue to enjoy.
With this chapter I have decided to start taking things in a canon-divergent direction, though not too-too far so that I can blend canon in as it becomes available. Just a warning in case people were wondering about that.
I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below!
"Off to see that man again?"
Julieta paused to turn and see that behind her was the dark skinned son of the Kujan family, Iok in all of his incompetent glory: he carried himself in a way that belied pride and confidence, but in all of her experience working with him Julieta had never been anything but irritated with how useless he was. If he were to come to any harm it would be as damaging as the losses of Carta Issue and Gaelio Baduin a year before, whose failures painted Julieta's opinion of this blueblood since the moment they met: he was just some noble family's kid who thought that because he was wealthy and came from a distinguished lineage that it meant that he too was somehow gifted. He likely thought of himself as some kind of hero of a story, when in fact he was just a valuable piece on the board that ought not to see any play with its tendency to put itself at undue risk.
She considered herself the opposite: Rustal and Galan Mossa had taken her from being nothing to where she was today thanks to her skills and the abilities she demonstrated each step of the way. Unlike Iok, she had to earn her keep, and he regularly got in the way of her further demonstrating her worth by requiring her to babysit him so that any random enemy soldier would not kill Iok and upset a great many people, who would likely pass the blame along to the people tasked with looking after him...up to and including her, and to have such a disgrace on her shoulders whether rightly earned or not would likely impact her ability to continue serving her master.
This irritation was ever present in her conversations with Iok, and feeling her tension rise made Julieta think...why couldn't Kujan be more like Vidar? Vidar was only here too thanks to Rustal, just like Julieta herself, and he was immensely skilled so he was well worth the special circumstances concerning his affiliation with Gjallarhorn.
Julieta turned her attention away from Iok as she continued to move on her way towards the hangar where her Reginlaze and Vidar's...Vidar were stationed to engage in simulation battles, "We are going to be doing mobile suit drills. I would say that you should join us to hone your abilities, but you have none so you would only be in our way."
Iok shook a fist at her as he yelled, "What was that!?"
"All you will do on the battlefield is die if you keep fighting with no talent, so you ought to leave combat to us," Julieta explained, not bothering to look back at him even as he began to follow her.
Iok's tone was a mixture of scathing and smug, "You think too highly of him. Anyone with a suit that has three reactors could outperform someone with one. If I used his mobile suit I would be the superior combatant surely, since I have not had to rely on such a machine."
Julieta finally turned around to look at him with both of her eyebrows raised, "You are amazing..."
The seeming compliment actually stopped Iok in his tracks, and after a moment of surprised gaping he spoke back with a smirk, "Oh, you think so?"
Dismissively turning back around, Julieta gave him the cold shoulder, "Yes. It takes a unique type of fool to think so highly of so little. Stay out of our way."
Incensed once again, Iok revitalized his complaints, "Do you really think you can trust someone who doesn't even tell us who he is? Who doesn't even show us his face? A coward like that won't spend a second abandoning his allies."
"Whether he is trustworthy or not, we share the same goal, and he has the skills to carry it out."
Unlike you were the words she left unspoken, but which Iok still felt as if they were a smack in the face.
If he wanted kinder words, he would have to earn them, just as Julieta had earned everything she had.
"This person McGillis has who you care for, who are they?"
Vidar looked up and saw that once again he was being approached by Julieta, who finished floating over to his mobile suit before sitting herself down on the hatch of the cockpit. She doubted that it would malfunction again like before, so she paid it no mind as Vidar went back to working with the machines that would hook up to a machine to allow for its combat simulation.
Since he wasn't speaking, Julieta determined that he did not care to answer the question, causing her to ask another in its place.
"You're quieter than you usually are. Just how deeply do you care for this person?"
She figured that if she found out his motivations, she could not only figure out who he was, but also better understand this "revenge" of his. When he took to the battlefield it certainly did not feel like he was just a vengeance fueled monster, so just what was going on in that head of his? His mask might hide his face, but bit by bit his words revealed the man behind it.
Vidar sighed as he realized that just ignoring her questions was not going to get her to stop, "Perceptive, but, besides trying to figure out who I am, I do not see what purpose you have for knowing such information."
Not discouraged, Julieta leaned forward to look more closely at him as he worked on the mobile suit to ready it for their training. He insisted on handling so much of this machine's maintenance that it actually both impressed and confused Julieta: surely he could be spending his time more productively since they had a team of people for work such as this, but at the same time it showed a dedication and focus that was absent in many Gjallarhorn pilots.
"If you are fighting to protect someone you care for, you are a better man than someone just seeking blood."
The part of Julieta that drove her to continue inquiring about what made her fellow pilot tick also was seemingly trying to find evidence to combat her natural suspicion of him: it was not just that she was suspicious, but she was beginning to feel like she wanted to be proven wrong about how his enigmatic persona struck her and set off the many alarms she had grown up to possess. A masked man with an agenda screamed 'threat', but Julieta felt that she wanted to know that he wasn't.
Following her words and her train of thought, Vidar examined them by pointing out the lack of stated ramifications, "And if I am a better man?"
"Then maybe I can trust you finally."
Julieta stood up and looked down at the man whose skintight outfit did little to hide how well built he was. Tall and quite muscular while remaining somewhat lean, Vidar was certainly atypical in his body type...perhaps a study of Gjallarhorn officers of certain proportions would be in order? It's not like everyone was over six feet tall and built like a...
She stopped herself when she realized she was not sure what she was about to fill into that blank, and also not sure if she wanted to know. So what if he was physically attractive? They were professional soldiers, of course he ought to possess a certain tone to his muscles.
Shaking these thoughts away, Julieta spoke again with determination: determination born both of conviction in her words as well as fervor born of not wanting to think about where her mind had gone moments before, "If you know who someone is inside, you don't need to see their face. Knowing your name would be knowing what you are, while knowing why you fight and for who you dedicate your life explains just who you are."
This was true for her, and she believed it would be true for him: she defined herself by her service to Rustal and it was the very core of her being because of the kindness the man had granted her, so finding out who the people Vidar revolved his life around and why would solve her puzzle in a way of just who he was...perhaps not his name, but his character and convictions.
Julieta paused as Vidar finally looked up to her again, the black visor pieces to his mask hiding his eyes from her piercing gaze. Even now as she grilled him for information that could lead to her unraveling his identity he remained calm, composed...he possessed in him an aura that Julieta felt conflict her own: while she could be unflappable in her appearance, it always came with a strong current of her attitude that would rise against anything that stood in the way of her goals in serving Rustal Elion. Vidar on the other hand seemed to rarely get agitated, rarely be stirred from his stoic facade. Entering battle did not rile him up like a life and death battle ought to have, it instead seemed to soothe him as if he was seeing an old friend for the first time in ages.
What would interest Julieta though is what would be more important to this man: his vengeance towards McGillis born of past grievances, or the protection of the person he cared for?
For Julieta, she was set on living her life now to serve Rustal, even if the bearded man who once went by the name of Galan Mossa was gone and his killers were still out there. She still had her master left, and so she would use what power she had to carry out his will rather than wasting it and disgracing the memory of her now deceased mentor.
Vidar's response was not actually to her words, but rather a statement of their present situation as he came to finish setting up the mysterious Gundam, "My suit is ready. We should get started."
Julieta smirked as she kicked off of his suit's hatch to begin floating towards her Reginlaze, "I won't go easy on you."
"That is fortunate, for I did not intend to let my own skills rust. It would defeat the purpose."
That it would, and Julieta would never have forgiven someone who just toyed with her.
"Again."
The battle simulations had been going on for over two hours when Vidar had decided to pause. Julieta though was not content with this, for she had not managed to overcome her companion and his nearly impossible to track mobile suit. It moved at such a speed that Julieta was shocked in their first few rounds as she tried to figure out a way to counter such speed, only to then spend the rest of their practice session failing to implement her reasonable plans to counteract his speed thanks to the performance in their machines just being that far apart.
His style was almost painfully simple, leaping towards his target with his sword used like a lance to run through his opponent faster than they could react. Fortunately for her, Julieta was no slouch and was able to try and react to these attacks, but so far she had failed to actually return any blows to Vidar as even the attacks she narrowly avoided or parried were then followed up with another would-be fatal strike if these were actual battles.
In short, he had utterly trounced her and Julieta had been growing upset as she continued to realize their present skill gap as well as just the difference in their machines' performances. Her Reginlaze was a powerful machine, far better than those old Grazes, but even it could not keep up with the Vidar and its pilot of the same name.
Having sensed her growing frustration, Vidar stopped the simulation before she crossed the line from angry at herself to angry at him. Now out of his suit, he floated over to where Julieta was begrudgingly opening her cockpit, "Learning to admit defeat is an important part of battle. Forfeiting before you forfeit your life is something only some learn in time for when they are put in that situation."
With him hovering in front of her cockpit, Julieta felt indignant as she stared the other pilot down. Her amazement at seeing him fight was severely lessened when it was her on the receiving end, and even though he was offering her a hand to help her out of her cockpit Julieta did not feel like accepting it just yet, leaving her just looking out at him from her seat with a pouting face on, "You don't give up. You have spent every moment since whatever McGillis did to you plotting his downfall. Right?"
In truth, now that they stopped Julieta was beginning to feel aches in her body from the long combat session. She had been through longer, but nothing she could remember facing in any battle or drill compared to the utter humiliation she just suffered from the agile suit she struggled to just keep her suit's vision on.
Able to tell that her pride was going to leave her there in the cockpit not accepting his help, Vidar decided to retract his hand and instead use it to point to something else in the hangar, "There is another reason for us to leave things here for now. It seems you have duties to attend to."
Julieta looked and could see that an attendant for Rustal was standing around, seemingly waiting for her to finish without directly pressuring her to do so. That meant that Rustal wanted to speak to her, but that it would not be an urgent affair.
Her duty calling, Julieta exited her cockpit and narrowed her eyes at Vidar on her way out, not being the most gracious of losers since she despised the feeling of failure, "Don't think that this is over. Just because I lost now does not mean I always will be your inferior."
"It is unfortunate that our machines are not equal, but they are what we will be going into battle with, and so they are the tools we must acquaint ourselves with."
His words actually gave Julieta some comfort, as it felt like he was implying that if all things were equal with their mobile suits that it would be an actual competition. Her rising irritation stemmed, Julieta smirked to herself as she floated past some soldiers who had been watching Vidar with interest since he left his mobile suit.
"That guy is weird."
"Quite. He certainly is a char—"
She didn't bother to wait around and finish listening to them babble about Vidar being a 'character', since she honestly didn't care what their opinions were. Maybe if they would distinguish themselves and earn her notice she would pay their words mind. But, as things stood, she was fine even ignoring one of the Seven Stars so she was fine dismissing these soldiers as well. If they weren't Rustal or someone else she respected, why bother with them at all?
Rustal's attendant didn't need to guide Julieta to where his office was on their ship, but they did so anyways without a word. Once she arrived they left, with Julieta saluting her superior officer as she felt she should.
"Master."
Elion smiled at her as the door closed at the attendant's departure. He seemed calm, which helped confirm Julieta's suspicion that this wasn't an urgent issue, though it made her begin to wonder just what it could be.
"Thank you for coming. I am sorry if I interrupted your training."
Julieta didn't feel like talking about said exercises so she instead cut straight to the point, "Is there a new mission, Master Rustal?"
"Not yet. This meeting is to discuss a certain ally of ours," Rustal's smile turned into a wide grin as Julieta's face showed that she knew who he was talking about even without saying his name, because who else could he possibly mean? "The masked man who goes by the name Vidar has made quite a name for himself since our last battle after all. It only makes sense that we would speak of him as are many others here."
Not sure what to say or do just yet, for she knew he had something he wanted to bring up specifically or ask, Julieta kept quiet and let Rustal continue forward with his eventual query.
"What is your opinion of him?"
Standing straight at attention, Julieta's response took some thought but came out once she decided how she wished to convey him to her superior officer to whom she owed everything, "He is our most useful asset, sir. He is knowledgeable of our enemies' tactics, and he possesses combat skills beyond even my own."
This strong appraisal seemed to amuse Rustal, who gave Julieta a questioning eye even as he remaining grinning, "It is rare for you to seem so fond of another."
She might have been oblivious as to what he was implying in a joking tone if not for how Iok had mocked her over the idea of her 'liking' Vidar in a less than professional manner. If she was not tasked with protecting him, Iok might be in the infirmary for daring to suggest such a thing after the battle.
To further dispel what others seemed to be seeing that she herself was unaware of, Julieta shook her head and spoke plainly, "It is merely an assessment of his value, sir."
With that said, Rustal casually sailed straight into his actual reason for calling Julieta into his office, "Very well. You would not mind keeping an eye on him for me, would you?"
This simple request actually surprised Julieta, who until then had been pressuring Vidar for information with no other purpose but to suit her own curiosity and settle her unease with working alongside someone with no face. Now, the idea of being told to inspect Vidar...it felt wrong in some ways. Until now Vidar had given her information about himself that was obviously outside of the comfort zone he possessed on the subjects, meaning he at least respected her enough to tell her these things, while this would mean that she was investigating him for their superior officer...it felt like a breach of trust, the thought of which made her come to realize that she was indeed growing closer to Vidar. He was the only one outside of Rustal who she regularly interacted with now, but unlike Rustal she didn't owe him a debt of gratitude. Instead, she respected him while mistrusting him...an odd state to be in, but it was how she managed to tie together the fact that he was a superb pilot and combat partner with how secretive he was.
Just to be sure of what she was being asked, Julieta inquired further, "Do you mean you want me to spy on him?"
Her reaction almost caught Rustal by surprise, but he met it still with an amused smile, "Do you object?"
Hoping that there would be some justification behind this so that she could ease her conscience, Julieta dodged the question while asking one of her own, "Has he done something wrong?"
"I would just rather be appraised of his actions, motivations, and other information that might prove relevant if in this conflict we find ourselves at odds with one another. I do not currently foresee such a situation, but one must always be ready, and you are the only one who he seems to be spending time with."
Rustal had become serious, and it was obvious to them both what Julieta would next say now.
"Understood, Master. I will see to it that any information you would need is passed along."
"Very good. You are dismissed then. There are some things I would have you handle in the meantime, but I heard you were training with him before coming here. Go ahead and continue doing so. I want my two best pilots at their best for when we confront McGillis and that upstart group Tekkadan who he likes working with."
With that, Rustal dismissed a now troubled Julieta back into her day of pestering Vidar...only, now she was doing so under direct order.
"Something is on your mind."
Julieta frowned at Vidar as he looked over to her as they stood idly in the hangar, Vidar having been doing whatever it was that he did when she wasn't around, and Julieta now returning but not having directly approached him just yet.
"You usually do not hesitate to ask your newest question when you come to see me."
Her shake of her head was both to dismiss what was on her mind as well as to disagree with his premise, "I was thinking. That is all."
"Your voice is laced with regret," Vidar responded, having tuned in to the underpinnings of her tone.
Julieta realized that in her thoughtful trance after leaving Rustal's office that she had not used the same measure of control over her voice as she would normally, so she very well may have just accidentally let some of her inner conflict make its way out into her voice, not that she would admit it, "Oh? Why would I feel regretful over?"
Vidar leaned forward on the railing they stood by, his arms apart and his hands grabbing it as he took a casual stance of using it to support him, "That is what I want to know. Most likely though it has to do with the man you call your master, for I cannot think of someone else who would bring you pause."
Julieta's silence told Vidar what he needed to know, and so he turned the tables on her with their little game of question and answer, "This question game can go two ways it appears. So, what did Rustal ask of you that has left you thinking before you confront me?"
That he was so astute irritated Julieta, but she had to admit that if he could understand someone as scheming as McGillis, he probably could pick out a few things from other people too. As if to prove her point, even as Julieta averted her gaze from him, Vidar pierced through her defense born of pseudo ignorance.
"Of course, the only logical explanation is that you are uncomfortable with him asking you to keep an eye on me. And I understand. If I were him I would want to keep someone with the power of a Gundam under close surveillance too, for to have such a threat turn on you would be a fatal mistake."
That he picked her apart so quickly and found out her new mission...Julieta's eyes were wide with shock as she realized that during all this time she has been examining Vidar, he has likely been studying her as well. And since she hid far less than him, she had inadvertently let him inside her own head.
"I do not need to change my behavior or actions in any way to hide from this new circumstance, so you should go on like it never was even asked of you," Vidar stated, revealing that he did not hold this new development against her as well as that he did not feel as if it changed anything else either. While Julieta was reassured by this, she still felt a pang of regret that now whether he intended to or not he would be a bit less revealing since now everything was essentially a conversation between him, Julieta, and Rustal so long as he asked for information.
Unwilling to address the conversation, Julieta set her sights on something else: offense rather than defense.
"What do you do when you are not working on your mobile suit?"
She still was unsubtle with her subject changes, bringing a small piece of amusement to Vidar's voice as he spoke back, "What do you do in your time?"
Julieta turned her nose up haughtily, glad that he seemed to have taken the bait for the moment and glad to have moved away from talking about her spying mission.
Her duty was her life, and so it only made sense in her mind that things such as practicing her mobile suit skills would be her time-killers. After all, she did not gain the skills to combat someone like Mikazuki 'the devil' by just sitting on her laurels, she had to work each and every day for it. "Prepare for the moment Master Rustal needs of my skills, of course."
"You should find a hobby."
Julieta paled as she realized that her dedication to Rustal could perhaps be likened to how Vidar spent so much time with his suit, since they both would spend a great deal of time doing for seeming fun what others saw as a job, but Julieta would not concede this point since she did not want to verbally admit that perhaps she was as lonely and devoid of a life as this man who seemed to have nothing except his mission. While not one to strive to be normal, Julieta would still object to being defective in certain areas of life, "I spend my time productively. You are the one who should find a hobby."
"Perhaps."
Cryptic, but she had come to expect some answers like that now and again. Not phased by this, Julieta grinned over at the other pilot, "What did you do before you decided to play dress up and put on an odd mask?"
Julieta's smirk faded as she saw Vidar's hands grip the railing for a moment before slowly easing off until they were barely holding it. It wasn't that he was mad at her joke, she could tell that much, but something had struck him as he pondered her question.
Somewhat concerned, Julieta started to reach out towards him when Vidar spoke up suddenly, his voice a solemn note that was quieter than even his normally soft tone.
"I had friends to occupy my time."
His reaction, the pain shown and gone in an instant, left Julieta without a clue of what to say. This was obviously a hard topic for him, and it was not like one of those where he would just let things drift off and things would go unanswered. No, she had uncovered a wound on him that was still healing from whatever trauma inspired this.
It was then that Julieta realized that she pitied him. She pitied whatever this man had gone through, whatever he had suffered to come to this point where he would cast aside his name, cast aside what family and friends he had, all just for the sake of bringing another man to ruin. Whatever it was that McGillis had done, it had hurt this man not only in body but in soul.
"Was McGillis one of them?"
Her question was not meant to probe as much as it might have been had the tone of the conversation been different. No, this was seeking an answer to try and solve just what was going on with this companion of hers in all of his stoicism that seemingly originated from that man who dared to oppose Master Rustal.
Since she was going to receive no reply to the McGillis query, Julieta offered up another question, this one returning to the subject of Vidar's free time and the friends he spent it with, "Well, what did you do with them?"
"It feels like a lifetime ago..." was the response she received, Vidar now looking up as if lost in thought. It sounded as if he had forgotten or just had not thought of such things from his past, as if he had forgotten how to enjoy himself like an actual person...it made sense then to Julieta why he had been so happy when he had been able to take to the field in the recent battle, for it had given him an outlet of sorts. He was able to feel something then he had not felt in a long time.
He was lonely, and he seemed to have a deep attachment to his mobile suit...while his calling it a "he" made Julieta question the depth of his sanity, she still felt her pity welling up for this wounded soul beside her. She wasn't used to feeling this way, rendering her confused of how to deal with this outpouring of positive emotion.
So, to steel herself and not appear wishy-washy, Julieta crossed her arms and turned up her nose again, her mouth a large smirk as she spoke.
"If it keeps you from wallowing in self-pity idly, I suppose I could set aside more time to train with you."
Vidar looked over to her, but the only traces Julieta could get on his feelings were in his seemingly sardonic words back to her.
"Oh? You would do that for a man you do not trust?"
It was obvious bait for Julieta to admit that she had come to like him a bit more than she had stated on the battlefield, but she did not rise to it. Instead, she focused on the solution she had come up with.
"Of course. I only serve to benefit from sharpening my own partner's skills. If you perform well, I will have less to worry about. I already have one useless pilot to look after, I don't need two."
Accepting Julieta's hidden offer of companionship, Vidar turned back to looking forward at their mobile suits, "I hope you are not disappointed when I win again."
Nodding over at them, Julieta showed her dexterity as she swung off the platform using the railing in a way that had her sailing right towards her suit as it stood ready for more combat simulations, "You may have skill and a superior suit, but I won't make it easy."
She heard what sounded like a small yet notably amused exhalation. While floating away from him Julieta turned herself around to face him, and when she was sure he was looking at her she furrowed her brow at her companion.
"Do I amuse you?"
Her seeming irritation caused Vidar to press that button a bit further out of a seeming playfulness, "Perhaps today I came to here to laugh at you."
Dissatisfied with his answer, Julieta turned around again while Vidar himself pushed off the platform to head towards his own mobile suit. On the way he spoke again, seeking to clarify why he had become amused at Julieta's determination to be tough around him.
"No, I was just thinking that someone I knew would like you."
This eased her ego a bit, for him remembering someone and seeing them in her was better than him laughing at her for some reason, "Your prideful friend?"
"Another...someone else who wanted to prove herself better than me."
He said no more, but by then they were both at their mobile suits.
Julieta felt determined to crush him this time around, her pity be damned.
"I'm done for now. You win."
Unfortunately for Julieta, one cannot bridge such a large gap in a day. While she certainly was beginning to pick up on ways to combat her partner, he still bested her handily during their simulations.
Thinking that his words earlier had gotten to Julieta, Vidar opened his cockpit to stand up and stretch after this second multiple-hour training session, "Learning to admit defeat?"
A stomach growling gave Julieta's response before she did.
"I'm hungry."
She actually wanted to continue, but she was about to pass out from the hunger she realized after having ignored it all day in favor of dealing with this man she was finding herself more and more interested in the further she delved into what she believed to be his psyche.
Another stomach rumbling revealed that while he tried to hide it with a mask, Vidar was a human being as well.
"...I suppose I am too. I have not eaten yet today."
To his surprise, this earned Vidar a death glare from Julieta that he had not expected to receive.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"You beat me while starving. I have a long ways to catch up to you and that suit of yours."
She had at least eaten earlier, but it sounded like Vidar just was completely starved if what he said was true.
That being said...how did he consume food? He didn't eat with others, that was for sure, so did he eat in his room? After all that was likely the only place he could take his mask off safely without someone peeking in on him, and he needed to remove the mask to eat, right?
Well, she hoped the answer to that was yes.
"It makes sense though that you haven't eaten. It must be hard when you wear a mask all of the time."
She received no argument from the man who like her was starving, "Perhaps I should get something then to bring to my room."
Julieta shot him a cheeky grin from where she stood at the edge of her suit's cockpit, "Could I see your room?"
"I think you know the answer to that."
It was then that the two left the mobile suits behind in order to go find sustenance, which fortunately for them was not too far a distance away. The engineers had designed the ships to have cafeterias available near mobile suit hangars so pilots would not have to travel far between deployments in longer battles. However, while it was not a far distance away it still was enough for them to come across someone else who would actually talk to the two of them, as compared to the other soldiers on the way ignoring them outside a whisper or two about the mysterious Vidar.
"Done wasting time in the hangar?"
Julieta did not bat an eyelash as she continued on down the hallway past Iok.
"Vidar, I thought I heard something. Did you hear anything?"
He shrugged nonchalantly, going along with Julieta's mockery of Iok, "It must have been your imagination."
This was not well received by their comrade, who was infuriated by the lack of respect paid to him and his rank, "Hey! I am your superior! You two nobodies better show the respect due to your commanding officer and a member of the Seven Stars!"
Julieta continued on a bit before she realized that Vidar had stopped. While not outwardly showing much in the way of anger, she could with her experience with him tell that he was as close to angry as he got without showing it. Vidar turned back halfway to Iok, who seemed a bit taken aback by actually having received his attention.
"McGillis is a member of the Seven Stars, leading the Fareed family and one day perhaps the Bauduin family. To what do we owe him in terms of respect?"
Iok balked as his argument for respect was crippled, "Some street rat who was taken in does not command the same station and respect as an actual member of the Seven Stars. Perhaps if you knew of our noble lineage, you would understand why."
Vidar finished turning around, now giving a small incline of a bow in a seeming mockery of Iok's supposed intelligence and wisdom on the subject, "What is it that I am unaware of? Explain to me my ignorance."
The son of the Kujan family stumbled on his words as he tried to come up with some retort for his comrade, only to be cut off by Julieta who did not mince any words as she spoke to him.
"Iok, you should let it go. You're losing and we have more important matters to attend to," another growl of her pained stomach signaled that they needed tending to, "Specifically our stomachs.
Julieta speaking up seemed to actually give Iok the words he needed, as he flipped his nose up at her dismissively and spoke down to them both, "As if his little imp-monkey has any say on the matter of who is winning and not," he paused before realizing that he was being passed up for food, "And how dare you imply that satiating your hunger stands above the importance of speaking to your superior officer!"
By then though they had already left, and he had nobody else left to argue with to nurse his pride. While normally affable, Iok really disliked that girl in all of her eccentric nature, and now he was growing annoyed by that masked man now that he had shown Iok up in the last mission and defeated the entire enemy force by himself while Iok had been dragged off the battlefield. For that reason they were both rivals in his book, even if neither of them cared enough about him to stay and chat when they were instead hungry.
"What do you even eat?" Julieta asked as they stood in a line to receive food, others in the line giving them both odd looks though Vidar in particular was receiving the bulk of them.
"I would say food just like you eat, but I do not have a taste for insects."
Julieta rolled her eyes at him as he again referenced how she ate a butterfly, "Neither do I. That was a failed experiment, not a habit."
When they were given meat for their trays in the cafeteria Vidar was met with an interesting sight: the meat on Julieta's plate disappearing in an instant as she basically inhaled it. He stopped moving in the line for a moment after this, so Julieta felt the need to question his sudden pause.
"What?"
"I suppose I just am used to someone waiting for their plate to be filled before they finish half of it."
Sensing that she was being judged, Julieta rationalized her consumption of the meat even before they had received the entirety of their meal, "Wasting time standing around doesn't do anything, so I eat as soon as I can."
"I should teach you proper etiquette sometime, for it appears others have failed to. Think of it as thanks for your company."
Julieta smirked as her partner revealed himself to be of a particular sort of people, her mind trying to imagine someone like Rustal or Iok under his mask now, "So you're one of those upper class snobs? No wonder you have a Gundam."
Vidar sounded a bit offended by the suggestion, though he did not fully deny it either, "One does not need to be Iok in order to know how to eat without discomforting everyone around them."
"Hmmmph. Fine," as they finished receiving their food, Julieta began to stuff it in her mouth and displaying table manners befitting of someone who would just randomly eat a butterfly, "But not today. I am too hungry to learn useless manners."
Once they were free from the line Julieta expected Vidar to just leave, but instead he was standing still again. What was it this time?
"Aren't you going to go back to your room? Why are you staring?"
"Nothing at all," he reassured her, only then to point to what had caught his attention: the bread portion Julieta had been given was completely gone now, leaving an empty space on her tray. The entire tray was almost empty and she had not even sat down yet, "You eat bread awfully fast."
Not seeing why he should care about her bread, Julieta tilted her head, "Did you want it?"
"I have lost my taste for it recently. Perhaps another time."
As he departed, taking with him his tray whether that was allowed or not, Julieta was left behind and thinking about what they just did.
She had gone to go get food with someone and actually had enjoyed his company, and she felt sad he was going off on his own.
Perhaps she could invite him to go get food other times as well? It was not as if she could just regularly eat with Rustal, but it would be better than sitting alone and getting weird looks from her fellow soldiers...though to be fair, she was sure Vidar would give her weird looks as well until she learned how to eat like a normal person.
Still, the idea of eating with someone didn't feel as repulsive and as much of a waste of time as she would have deemed it not too long ago.
Were they friends now?
A/N: Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below! If you want more be sure to let me know, and be sure to favorite/follow so you can keep up with the latest updates.
