General Hawk watched Lily, wondering what was going on in that strange mind of hers. He knew that she was feeling more secure now that she had her animals back, but he still needed to get on her good side for now. He looked over at the rest of the Joes. "You are all dismissed. I must talk to Lily alone," he said, eyes on the young woman.
Duke frowned slightly, but nodded and headed off to the training room with Ripcord. "Wonder what's going on with them," Duke wondered aloud. Ripcord shrugged. "Who knows, man. That chick is messed up though. I'm wondering how Hawk is going to get on her good side. If she even has one that is," he commented with a chuckle. Duke chuckled as well, looking over his shoulder once as the fading figures of Hawk and Lily.
Lily watched the soldiers leave before turning to face General Hawk. "What is it that you actually want from me, Hawk?" she asked.
General Hawk turned and started to walk towards his office. "Walk with me will you, Viper?" he asked, a small smile on his lips.
Lily stiffened, clenching her fists. "Don't ever call me that again, Hawk. That name is long past and not one that I wish to have again."
General Hawk only gave a small nod. "As you wish. Though I must ask, do you still have that tattoo?" he asked curiously.
Lily didn't reply, only lowering her gaze and digging her fingers into the tender flesh of her palm. "That does not concern you," she whispered, anger and grief mixing together in her voice.
Hawk raised his hands slightly, showing that he wanted no argument. "As you wish," he said again heading towards his office once more.
Lily followed after him, taking deep breaths to control her anger and pain. She finally relaxed her hands, taking to clenching her jaw instead. Once they reached Hawk's office, Lily stepped inside, not bothering to really look around. She had seen it all before.
General Hawk sat down at his desk, clasping his hands in front of him on top of it. "So Lily, here we are again. I remember when you were only sixteen, coming in here a couple of months after your brother as the new recruit. He begged for me to take you onto the team," he started, not at all surprised when Lily slammed a fist down on the desk.
"Don't you dare speak of my brother in front of me," she threatened. "You are not worthy enough to do so."
Hawk gave a small sigh, but nodded. "Fine, but as I was saying, I still need you on my team. I have a plan on training animals to guard against and attack our enemies, mostly from wild. I remember your bro-" he cut off before revising his words. "Someone telling me about you having a wonder gift of being able to understand animals and being the greatest trainer that the world has ever seen. I need you to be that trainer again, the one that can train these animals so that we may take down Cobra."
Lily was already shaking her head. "I told myself that I wouldn't get back into the military after what happened to him," she said softly. "I won't go through that again. It would have been better for you to just leave me alone. Even in the few days that I have been here, memories that I've been rid of for months have come back. I won't be able to do it."
It was now General Hawk's turn to shake his head. "Bullshit. I've been you do more incredible things than half the men here. Heck, you took down Snake Eyes within the first few minutes that you were here. Not a single person has been able to do that in all the years that he has been here. So, cut the crap. I know that you are capable of doing this job, despite the memories and the stress. I have known you for a good couple of years Lily and I know that you can handle it, unlike the other trainers that have tried again and again."
Lily ran a hand through her long brown hair, giving a heavy sigh. She was quiet for many moments before speaking. "I will do as you ask, but only under a few conditions."
General Hawk took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he nodded slowly. "Fine. What are your conditions?" he asked warily.
Lily's silver eyes darted over Hawk's face. "First off, my animals will be allowed to stay here and I will still be able to train them, as well as spend time with them."
Hawk nodded. "Alright, agreed. Continue," he said.
Lily gave a small nod of satisfaction before going on. "Second, I won't be training any animals that have been brought in from the wild over the age of a few weeks. I don't need to be losing another eye. I will be training your soldiers as well how to train and what to look for in an agitated animal. I won't allow anyone to be hurt or injured under my watch."
General Hawk nodded again. "I will see what I can do with that," he replied.
"Third, I want to train with your Alpha team. I've been losing my touch and I need sometime to train myself as well as the animals," Lily reasoned.
Hawk nodded once more. "Ok, anything else?" he asked.
"Just one more thing. You are not to speak of my brother or of my connections here. You are not to speak of my past with anyone unless I tell you that you can. My past is my own and it is not something I wish to burden anyone with," Lily said, holding her head eye. She was determined to do this her way or not at all.
"Fine," Hawk said after a few seconds hesitation. "I'll have your things taken to your new room within the hour. Welcome back to the team, Viper."
Lily shook her head, a bit angrily. "I will no longer be going by that name. I'll take on a codename, but Viper is no more. She is someone who is only a memory now."
General Hawk gave an understanding incline of his head. "I see," he said, standing up. "Well then, I will see you around Lily. The Alpha team will make sure that you receive a proper codename." He gave a small chuckle before leaving the room.
Lily looked down at Macy, who was laying down just outside the office door. "Wonder what that was about," she said to the German Shepherd. As if she understood what she was saying, the dog seemed to give a shrug, as though she was wondering the same thing.
