Duke sat at a table in the dining car with three huntsmen. The first, sat across from him, was his brother Diam. Diam was similar in appearance to his brother, though more tanned from the Erenian sun, he clearly spent a lot of time on his appearance to properly reflect the values of his homeland. His hair wasn't quite long or short, just casually unkempt and brushed back into a cool style, blondish-brown in color. He was still wearing the hijacker outfit, but normally he and his brother seemed to have similar dress sense. He often wore formal attire, a black and gray pinstripe suit. Like his brother, his dress sense wasn't very colorful, but his eyes were, a dazzling blue that made it seem as though they were diamonds. White's eyes were a similar, less pronounced blue, and also not focused on Diam; he'd seen quite enough of him frankly.
They were more focused on these two new faces, admittedly one more than the other. Also still dressed in her hijacker outfit, there was a stark disconnect from the dark outfit and her bright hair and warm eyes. Or, they would look warm, if she were smiling. It seems White's first impression of her, when she'd pretended to be a conductor, was not at all a good representation of her personality. She was leaning up against the wall of the car, away from the three men, looking annoyed and uninterested. When he caught her gaze he quickly looked away. She didn't seem like the kind of person Duke wanted to be caught staring at.
That leaves us with the final man there, a man Duke was meeting for the first time. He was a Faunus with shaggy black hair that contrasted with his white rabbit ears which were folded around two black devices. He wore a long white and gold formal coat, probably the Informer's actual uniform when they weren't on duty, except he simply wore it around his shoulders, letting the sleeves dangle freely. Underneath he wore a white dress shirt and pants, as well as black military boots. "So... yeah, this was all your initiation test. And I guess ya passed." He said.
"How? How did you even do all this?" Duke asked. "Simple, we just managed to coordinate your train trip to Mythic Station with this little terrorist group's train robbery. We let 'em know you'd be there, let you know they might be there, and Bob's your uncle." He said, nonchalantly. "What about the other passengers?" Duke asked, still confused at the logistics of this test. Diam spoke up this time. "Everyone on this train was either a hijacker or an agent of ours. Also, just for the record, I'd like to say that you DID NOT pass. You were unable to incapacitate us." Duke furrowed his brow. "You didn't give me a fair chance, you interrupted my fight with her." He said. "Oh, and what's your excuse for your failure in OUR fight?" Diam asked him, smirking an annoyingly cocky smile. The woman spoke up. "You two are trained huntsmen, quit bickering like toddlers." Her voice was very cold and monotone, obviously annoyed. "Oh, we're just having a bit of a playful back and forth, Rych, it's just a thing we do." Diam responded, grin still firm on his face.
"You can back and forth to your heart's contents later, for now, introductions are in order. You know Diam already, so," He extended his hand to Duke. "I'm Gack Rabbit, sort of the leader of the group. Well, the team we're forming, not the Informers themselves. You'll meet our commander later." Duke shook the Faunus's hand as he gestured to the blonde woman. "And this here is Rych Black. She's not much for conversation, so don't take it personally." Rych rolled her eyes as he said this. Gack released Duke's hand. "Any other burning questions? You can always ask later, it'll be a day or two before we're at Mythic Station." He said. Duke thought for a moment. A day or two was long enough to ask them each a few questions, and honestly, he was pretty damn tired. He used his semblance quite a bit during that train fight. He always relied on that thing too much sometimes, it could drain his aura if he wasn't careful. "I think I'm good for now... if you don't mind, I need some sleep..." Gack nodded in understanding. "You go do that then, same room you were assigned." Duke got up from his seat and walked back to the sleeper car. He had one main question, an important one, but it could wait till the morning.
And right when he woke up, after getting dressed and finding Gack, he asked him this question, with no introduction or pleasantries. "What the hell is my brother doing in this organization?" Gack was looking out one of the windows of the dining car. As Duke asked him this, he turned to face him. "What, no good morning? No hello?" He said, smirking. "If you must know, he's been uninvolved with Erena's affairs for over a year now, you could call him a freelancer. He's one of the best young huntsmen in the world, we'd be crazy not to grab him." He explained to Duke. "How can you be sure he isn't planning something? I doubt he could even function in a team of four, he's absurdly megalomaniacal." Duke retorted. He'd, against his own wishes, heard a lot about his brother's successes as a single huntsman, but not much in the way of his team. He assumed this was intentional by Diam, flaunting all his successes to Duke, whilst sweeping his shortcomings under the rug. "He's not JUST working in a team of four, he's working with a large organization of individuals for the betterment of the world. And, let me stress this point, these are LIKEMINDED individuals, likeminded with him, HE wants a better world. He's against this war, he's against cruel governments, he's one of those 'New Carcosa' types, y'know?" Gack explained. Duke was aware of the ideology. Based on the Great Fable, though not inherently religious itself, it was the belief that society was meant to be united under one empire or even a single city spanning the entire globe. "Forgive me if I doubt this. If anything, he'd believe in a New Carcosa under Erena's complete control, he's nothing but a stooge for that country." Duke said, disdain in his voice. Gack shrugged. "Look, as I said, he's not done a bit of work for Erena in a year. Maybe he's changed since you've last seen him?" The Faunus said. "Unlikely..." Duke responded as he began to walk away.
He'd decided to go ask Rych about Diam. She seemed blunter, the kind of person who would tell it like it is. He found her at the back of the train, leaning on the railing outside and smoking a cigarette. He cleared his throat. "I thought you weren't meant to smoke on trains." He said. She looked back at him, not emoting that much. "It'd be my word against your's, keep your mouth shut." She responded dryly. He just nodded, none of his business. "Right, I just wanted to talk about Diam. How is he on this team?" She looked away again after this question, taking another drag from the cigarette. "He's one of the best in the world, and he was willing to do this, it's not that complicated." She said. "Anything else you want to bother me about?" Duke thought he'd just take this matter straight to Diam now, rather than pester Rych or Gack any longer. He stepped back into the train to find his brother.
Surprisingly, he found him immediately, standing in the car, waiting for his conversation with Rych to end. "I heard you have some questions about my involvement." He said, not with his usual smirk, he seemed to be taking this seriously. Duke thought for a moment before responding. "What happened to the Model Erenian? The superior huntsman who believed to be part of the greatest nation on Carcosa?" He asked. Diam sighed. "I used to believe that Erena held the way to prosperity, that if they were to have total control over the world it would be a utopia. But recently, their interest in Helysia has had me unsure. They shouldn't bother themselves with the business of another country, their focus should be on improving their own society and maintaining their standing in the world. This war is a waste of time and resources for Erena, and since they seem to be blind to that, I've decided to give my service to the Informers instead." Diam explained. Duke took a moment to consider all this. His brother had always been a diehard when it came to Erenian patriotism, touting the flag of his homeland above all others, using it as a means to prove he was better than everyone else. But now, it seems he's changed his tune. "...Don't think this resolves everything between us. You have an ounce more of my respect than you used to, that's all." Duke said. Diam nodded. "That's fine, White, I understand. I look forward to earning more of respect in our time working together." He said. Duke walked off, somewhat hopeful about his brother for once.
As Gack said, they arrived at Mythic Station after a few days. It was a somewhat stealthy installation, built into the side of a mountain in northern Manabriar, but like an iceberg, very little of it showed up top. Gack and some armed agents led the group in, where much of the base's personnel were gathered to welcome to the new recruit. But Duke's attention was mainly focused on the man stood front and center, the commander.
He was tall, very much so, with yellowish-orange skin. He had a square jaw, covered with a shaggy beard, the same orangeish-red as his long, scraggly swept-back hair. He had a very muscular build, contained in a formal uniform, with a coat like the one Gack wore around his shoulders, as well as a buttoned-up shirt, combat boots, and trousers. What stuck out the most was his face, apart from the beard he had piercing yellow eyes, and two short horns sticking out from his forehead, just above his brow, the one on the left looked a tad damaged. He was obviously a Vennlige, known to often be tall and have short horns growing out of their forehead, but they usually had more of a light yellow tint and a lithe build, whereas this man almost looked like a demon with his hulking frame and red pigment. He gave Duke a slight smile and stuck his large hand out, prompting him to step up to shake it. As he did, the man gave it a firm grip and looked down at him. "It's a pleasure to have you on board, son." He said, with a gruff, bassy voice. "Commander Red Devil, welcome to the Informers."
