Emora looked at Leanne with a small frown and a pair of somber looking eyes. She could already tell that the young Squire was upset about the news she had just been told. Judging off the way her chest puffed out at the moment of realization from the way she had inhaled, as if about to gasp, and the way her eyes had widened up a bit, with those blue colored irises looking right at the Warden with a hurt gaze of disappointment from the way she had just been let down. Her chest seemingly became denser with a sensation that Emora was all too familiar with.
The feeling that she had just done something wrong. Of course, she knew this wasn't the case, but she couldn't help but feel that way. She knew just by looking at Leanne that the young girl didn't like the news. That, of course, wasn't anyone's fault, but she still felt sorry and bad for her. The same went for Amybeth, whose face darkened upon seeing her best friend's dreams basically get shot down. But the worst was yet to come, and she knew it. The ginger still had her hand gently placed onto Leanne's shoulder when she had told the Alphas that she trained alongside herself under her father. In order to further console Leanne, she tightened her grip a bit and gave her a small smile.
Leanne just stared at Emora for a second, that same pained expression on her face. Emora's golden eyes just stared right back. The Warden could feel her heartbeat begin to quicken as she gazed, knowing she needed to say something. As she was about to, though, Leanne broke eye contact and just looked downward, her eyes now appropriately downcast, her hands limp at her sides. Cinder and Katsue also had nothing to say or give besides their own looks of pity.
"O-Oh… I-I see." Leanne began, slowly nodding her head after she had spoken. Her heart was hanging in the balance as she stood there. Now, she just felt like she had nothing to look forward to anymore. Not just that, but she felt even more envious than before. She wasn't going to get to stand before the Alphas on her first day of training at the Barracks if she even made it. With this let down, Leanne was unsure if she even had the determination to even keep trying as hard as she was. What was the point of trying so hard to get into the Barracks if she wasn't going to be able to show her role models what she could do, what she was made of.
Amybeth had gotten to do so, and all of sudden, she felt like it wasn't fair! Amy impressed her entire class, her future teachers and instructors, and all of the Alphas, on top of winning the exposition match and getting the privilege of training with and getting to know all of the Alphas personally! Leanne wasn't even going to get that chance, because they won't even be there to watch, or give input, or answer questions, or to provide a taste of what an actual fight is like!
Leanne's envy grew into full-on jealousy. While she sulked, her eyes had naturally begun to water a bit in her frustration. She slowly raised her head up and shot a nasty, dirty, undeserved glare at Amybeth. This was the first time she had ever done something like that.
Amybeth's smile disappeared as soon as she saw the look, her heart stinging with a wave of hurt as she stared back, her eyes darting over Leanne's face in confusion of what she had done, her hand slowly sliding back from her friend's shoulder shortly after. The ginger's lips opened so that she could speak and ask what was wrong, but she was interrupted when the blonde faced forward, looking up to the Alphas again.
"I understand. And you're right." Leanne began, her voice seemed a lot more… resentful, than it was before. Than it was ever, really. The Alphas all exchanged brief glances, before turning back down to look at Leanne.
"I guess it would get pretty boring and—" Leanne paused, her mind had suddenly begun to spin. She was feeling such a rush of emotion from everything, her eyes blinking a couple times during her pause. Her head was still trying to decide whether or not it wanted to say what it was going to say. But Leanne just let it fly. "And lame, to see you guys every single year. You Alphas are all a new team of Heroes anyway, but if you ask me, we might've jumped to conclusions on just how capable everyone is!" Leanne suddenly blurted out, now really taking the Alphas by surprise.
"W-What—" Amybeth stuttered, her eyes widening more as she took a step away from Leanne, just staring in disbelief. Cinder's head moved back a bit, almost in offense, but in reality, he was just surprised too. He could tell that Leanne was starting to get more emotional, because this sudden and abrupt change in mood and tone was extremely noticeable, and frankly, quite unpleasant. Katsue and Emora had similar reactions, both of them just looking at the Squire in confusion. Emora, however, looked more… bothered.
"I mean—if I remember correctly, that tournament, Jacques' Martial Arts Tournament, you—" Leanne made eye contact with Emora, which made her stutter harshly. She cut herself off, her eyes growing waterier as she locked gazes with the Warden, who instantly noticed the pain in the eyes of the young, hurting girl. However, she decided to stay quiet, as interrupting her was likely only going to make things worse. "You only won because you and Hakushi made it together in the end! That fight was meant to be to the death, and I'm sure that if either one of you had died, it wouldn't be remembered in such a positive light!" She cried out, the tears finally welling up to the point where they were about to fall.
Emora let out a gasp, Katsue soon turning her head over to look at the Warden, one of her hands grasping onto her arm in order to comfort her. Cinder stepped forward, his brows now furrowed as he was about to snap at the young Squire, but he was stopped by Emora's other arm firing out in front of him to stop him. The Commander stared at Emora, who just gazed on with awe.
"And… f-from what I've heard, that day that you were all given medals for pushing the Warborn away from Ashfeld and turning them against the Elios, y-you weren't even there, Lady Ryon! You left the other Heroes to take on Einar Magna on their own! And you're supposed to be the most popular Alpha!" Leanne shouted, her brows now furrowing, her eyes narrowing as they tried to hold back their tears. But the young girl's face naturally began to scrunch up as her bitterness and indignation got the better of her. The jealousy for Amy, her broken spirit, and the simple fact that the only reason she was even standing here with three Alphas was because she had trespassed and tried to free horses in order to get out from the Barracks, and had nearly gotten trampled as she failed regardless.
That was a terrible first impression, and she had YET AGAIN embarrassed herself and made herself look stupid and foolish in front of Emora. And now, with the way she was yelling, just out of pure resentment and hurt, she knew there was no going back. She knew she was being irrational. It wasn't the fault of the Alphas, and she knew it. But she still couldn't help but be bitter over it. And in the heat of the current moment, Leanne could do nothing to stop her own onslaught.
"And finally—the Samurai?! The entire ordeal that went down over there got both the Emperor and the Empress killed! The entire royal family was switched around because of it! An entire city was burned down, too! And over…" She paused, looking down to her hands. As she looked down to them, she finally realized that she was shaking. Her lips were trembling as she spoke, and—she paused, her eyes darting past her hands to look at the dirt below her feet. It was dotted with wet spots. Her tears were dripping down and off her face.
"Over love! And you had the help of the civilians with taking down the clan that Emperor Kaneko ruled! Without that rebellion, without that uprising, you—" Her voice cracked. "You all would've died, and Lady Hakushi wouldn't even fucking be here!"
At this point, the Alphas were all speechless, staring at Leanne in disbelief. Emora was the most shocked. The girl that she had spoken to half a year ago, a shy, modest, yet earnest and aspiring person who she thought she had managed to inspire to become a proper Warden, was now relentlessly lashing out like this. It hurt, and she was feeling the absolute brutal brunt of it. Her golden eyes darted around frantically, though stayed tracked onto Leanne. Cinder just glared angrily, now properly and justifiably offended, while Katsue held onto Emora in order to keep her from getting emotional herself, as the words that were being spat out from the Squire hurt even her. She couldn't imagine what they felt like to Emora, since Leanne seemed to be shouting them out at her, specifically.
Amybeth was also at a loss for words. She couldn't believe that Leanne was doing all of this. For the past half year, Leanne looked up to the Alphas more than even she did. They were her idols, they were her reason for being so determined to push forward and train hard, and Emora was the sole person that sparked all of that inspiration and hope. But now this was happening? It was completely out of nowhere, and it seemed so unlike Leanne, and it was honestly sort of unsettling for the ginger to watch. She wanted to say something, but for the first time she had ever seen in her life, Leanne looked unapproachable.
That whole stereotype of women from Cherrytown being all coy, reserved, fair, and expressive with emotion wasn't exactly untrue. But now, it seemed apparent that it was a double-edged blade. Being expressive with emotion can of course mean that any Cherrygirl can be cheerful, endearing, and amiable… but it also meant that they could be dramatic, overwhelming, and potentially volatile, depending on how they're feeling.
This much was obvious now.
"In all of your great tales, the Alphas all just got lucky! Sure, there was teamwork and leadership and all—but how's that any different from what a team of Heroes is supposed to be anyway?! How are the Alphas special!?" She shouted with her eyes squeezed shut, in order to try and stop the tears from falling, which failed miserably. The squire brought her hands up to her face and allowed herself to cry into them, her sobs muffled as she pressed her palms over her mouth, her fingers all cupped together to hide the rest of her face.
Amybeth couldn't bear to watch. She looked to the Alphas for some sign of what to do, but they all looked just about as helpless as she was. The ginger turned back and began to inch forward, her hands hovering over Leanne, about to grasp onto her so that she could calm down. But Leanne's hands began to move, using her sleeves to wipe her tears from her eyes and face, though the crying still continued. She looked up to everyone, a couple sobs escaping her lips as she stared. "I… I hope that other trainees in the future—aren't nearly as bad as I am. Maybe what everyone tells me is right. Cherrygirls aren't meant to be Heroes!"
With that, Leanne suddenly rushed forward, shoulder charging her way between Cinder and Emora, refusing to stick around any longer to see what everyone else had to say. Running at her full speed, her boots rapidly pitter patting beneath herself, she sprinted towards the gates, which the guards were about to close back up after finally settling things out with some of the Barrack staff over the loose horses and the slightly damaged door of the stables. She let out a grunt of effort as she once again used her shoulder to lead her body out through the gates, sending them flying open and right into the steel helmets of the two guards, stunning them momentarily and bringing out light grunts from the two.
She zipped out from the open gates and quickly sped out onto the fortress' large paths, weaving and sliding between what was now dozens of civilians, soon disappearing from sight in the sea of passerby. The two guards recovered after about two or three seconds, spinning about rapidly to see who had charged past. They only managed to see a white and blue blur zip into the vast crowds. The two looked back into the barracks from where the figure had run out from, only to see Cinder, Emora, Katsue, and Amybeth all standing a small distance away from the gate, out in front of the stables.
Cinder just looked out to the gates, his eyes first spotting the two guards that were looking back in confusion. He briefly turned his head over to look at Emora and Katsue, who both just stared in silence. The man huffed, now beginning to walk forward to speak to the guards about what had happened, and to tell them that it was nothing to truly worry about.
Amybeth watched Cinder walk off, feeling absolutely terrible about what had just happened. She turned over to look at Emora and Katsue, just searching for some sort of reaction. But Katsue just looked outright dejected, her purple eyes dulled of their usual bright color. Amy watched their gaze shift occasionally, though it was always downwards. Emora was similar, but… there was a difference. Katsue was actually looking out to what was happening in front of her. Emora wasn't. She was more so just keeping her eyes looking out in a general direction, but she wasn't actually looking.
She was zoned out, her eyes blankly shifting lightly every so often as she thought to herself. Amybeth could tell that the Warden was distraught, and that if she didn't say anything, things would be forever awkward with her and the Alphas. Amy thought for sure that a day where she was rewarded directly by the Alphas with a personal training opportunity would be a lot more cheerful.
She stepped out in front of Katsue and Emora, and once she did, she further confirmed her observation that Emora was lost in thought, as Katsue's eyes shot directly to her, while Emora's just kept looking over her shoulder. "I-I can assure you, L-Leanne didn't mean…" She paused, to emphasize. "Absolutely anything of what you just heard. S-She really looks up to all of you, she—she loves each and every single one of you guys, and… b-before today, she had never shown any kind of disrespect for any of you! It was always nothing but admiration, wonder, and reverence, and I can put that on my life! P-Please, believe me!" Amy pleaded, her eyes frantically begging for forgiveness that didn't even belong to her.
Katsue just slowly nodded, a sad smile growing on her face as she gazed at Amy. "You really care about her, don't you?" She asked, her arms coming up and wrapping around her sides to hug herself.
Amybeth blinked once, before just staring for a moment. A nod finally came, a slow one. "Yeah. S-She's my best friend, and… I-I've got no idea what any of that was, I… I just—don't know what got into her. I've never seen anything like that happen to her, ever. Sure, she can get angry once in a while, but that's all of us. But an outburst like that? One of just…" She mumbled, looking down to the ground and shaking her head. "Pure animosity? Never, ever. Not even when she sliced the fingers off that Conqueror. She was angry for the people she was protecting; it was a different kind of anger than whatever type of anger that triggered such a spiteful, mean outburst."
Katsue nodded along in agreement, before turning her head over to look at Emora, who stood next to her in silence. The Warden's eyes had fallen a bit now, though they still did not look at Amybeth. The Shinobi placed a hand onto her shoulder, which finally brought out some sort of reaction. Emora seemed to jump a tiny bit, her lips parting as she turned her head over to face her fellow Hero.
"H-Hi." Emora murmured, with a small giggle, which was barely even a giggle, really. More so a light exhale that came after her back-to-the-world greeting. Katsue returned with an actual giggle, before looking back in the direction of the gates. Amybeth smiled lightly at Emora, before turning over to look at the gate too, where Cinder and the guards were finally finishing up. They locked the gate up, the guards now posted, and Cinder on his way back.
"Amybeth." Emora spoke, still not looking at the young trainee. The ginger quickly spun over, looking at the Warden with full attention. "Y-Yes…?"
The Warden paused for a moment, not responding as she thought. Her golden eyes suddenly turned to look at Amy, her face seemed… oddly blank. "May I ask where you and your friend are from? Are you from around the Azure Legion, or do you come from elsewhere in Ashfeld?" She inquired politely.
Amybeth thought back at what Leanne had cried out earlier.
"Cherrygirls aren't MEANT to be Heroes!"
But she didn't let that stop her. She couldn't. She was determined on being honest with both herself and her new group of elite mentors. Leanne's words may've hurt, but she had gotten this far, and had earned her keep now. It was either all in, or nothing.
"L-Leanne and I are both from Cherrytown, outside of the fortress walls. T-That's why she said that thing, about how Cherrygirls aren't… meant to be Heroes. W-When she said that, I swear I felt my heart break." She muttered, looking away from Emora, her eyes visibly wracked with hurt. "Her and I were always so determined to become Heroes together. To prove people wrong, that the women of Cherrytown can have strength too. But apparently, she's just… g-given up on all of that…" Uttered Amybeth, her voice steadily losing its volume and fortitude as she spoke, gaining a shaky sound to it as she spoke the last bit of her sentence.
But her composure was saved by the touch of a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned her head up to look at Emora, who had stepped forward and was now smiling down at her. The ginger just looked at the Warden in silence, her eyes still gleaming with that glint of the gloominess she was feeling.
"It's alright, Amybeth. Your friend… Leanne, when I first spoke to her, she was nothing like that, and I don't doubt anything of what you said earlier. I saw and heard it all myself, after all. The way she spoke and looked at me, the things she said back in the stables before I told her about how the visiting system was going to work, all of it just proves you're right. You know your friend well, and that's clear to me." Smiled the Warden, her golden eyes now far less blank than they were before. They seemed like they had been rekindled with life again.
Amybeth just slowly began to smile as she nodded to the Warden. "Yeah… I'm probably gonna go talk to her after my day here is done. She skipped out on class at her Academy today, so she probably just went home. I need to find out what that was all about…" She murmured, mostly to herself at the end there.
Emora nodded her head once in response to Amy's plan. "You two seem close. I know you'll be able to set things right with her. Leanne isn't like that, and I can tell. I just hope that her will to become a Hero persists through this trial."
The trainee frowned at the thought of Leanne straight-up quitting on trying to become a Hero. She suddenly found herself begging in her head that she wouldn't do so. Amybeth just eyed the ground for a couple of moments, hearing as Cinder walked up and exchanged a few words with both Emora and Katsue over what had happened, and what they were going to do about it. For the most part, they'd let it slide this once, as nobody expected to ever see Leanne around the Barracks again. Not because she was forbidden from doing so or banned in any way, but because they suspected that the Squire wanted nothing to do with the place anymore. Amybeth still hoped to herself that that wasn't the case.
Though, a small thought popped back into her head, which prompted Amy to look back up to Emora. She began to raise a hand up in order to get the Warden's attention. Emora looked downwards again, seeing that Amy wanted to speak. She gave her a small smile, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. "Yes, Amybeth?"
Amy bowed lightly before speaking, just to show Emora some respect. Though, Emora's smile wavered momentarily. Now that Amy was going to be training with the Alphas, Emora wanted to try and be on friendlier terms with the trainee. All of the formal talk and bowing should be reserved. It wasn't like Amybeth wasn't going to grow close with the Alphas over time. Emora hoped things would get less tense soon.
"I really appreciate your concern over Leanne, and all of the kind words of reinforcement you gave me earlier, truly! But… if I may ask, what did that have to do with where her and I came from?" Asked the trainee. Emora's smile grew a bit as her golden eyes turned up to look at the sky, where they caught the sun's glare, and flashed brightly, Amybeth staring in awe as her gorgeous irises shined brighter than an ingot of pure gold.
"Well… I suppose I can say that I'm good at recognizing the particular mannerisms and expressive dispositions that are common of residents from Cherrytown. From both you and Leanne, I could recognize things that I guess you could say I'm… very familiar with." Emora replied with that same smile, her eyes turning back down as she spoke to Amy. They seemed to glow for a second as they looked back at her from the bright sky overhead.
"Familiar with? H-How…?" Asked the ginger-haired trainee, tilting her head in curiosity. Katsue and Cinder both looked on with small smiles on their faces as Emora and Amybeth both looked at each other with that same kind of adorable, endearing head tilt. Amy's eyes briefly darted to the two other Alphas, her head realigning with the rest of her body as she looked up to Emora with a slight part in her lips.
The Warden's lips also parted, but only because she wanted to grin. Her white-toothed smile surprised Amybeth even more as she slowly became confused. But… as a few moments went by, she slowly began to realize.
"That sort of emotion in a girl from the Azure Legion, well." Emora began, shrugging her shoulders and looking off in the direction that Leanne had originally run off in. "It could only really be from Cherrytown. And the reason I recognized it so easily is because who can recognize a certain kind of person better than that exact kind of person?" She questioned out in the open, not just speaking to Amybeth, but to Katsue and Cinder, since the two were in on what the Warden was talking about.
The trainee's surprise slowly began to shift into elation. "Y-You… you're from—"
Emora suddenly let out a giggle, which interrupted Amybeth and made her flinch. The Warden's bright blonde hair waved about with the movements of her head as she nodded.
"Yep! I'm from the one and only Cherrytown too, Amybeth."
Here's for another fairly quick update! I hope you guys are enjoying the new characters! Stay tuned for the action, though, and thanks for your support!
