Love to Make You Mad

"Hey, Celestine?" Emerald asked, almost oblivious to the people sparring around her, "why do your shoulder pads have a tall part?"

To answer her question, Lelith's blade swung horizontally out of nowhere towards the Saint's neck and hit the vertical part of the Pauldron. Without much force behind it, it bounced off onto the floor with a clatter.

Celestine glared at the Drukhari who stood innocently on the other side of the hall. The Saint looked down at Emerald, "that is why. It is also why my armour has a built-in Gorget, to protect from attacks to my neck,"

The Saint bent over and picked the blade up, with a blink of an eye, it was sent back the way it came and Ilia gasped thinking the woman was about to be impaled with her own sword-blade-thing because she wasn't looking. But sighed a sigh of relief when she caught it without any difficulty…only for her eyes to widen at the fact that she wasn't looking but still caught it.

"Oh! I thought so!" Emerald said, "thanks!"

And she turned and wandered back to Ilia, who sat in a corner, confused and scared out of her mind with the organised chaos around her, "Is this normal?"

"Um, people train all the time…" Emerald trailed off in confusion before she looked around at the soldiers sparing as per Kotek's instructions, "oh, yeah, it's busy most of the time,"

Ilia let her eyes wander over the people gathered, "are children even allowed in here?"

Emerald sat down and sighed, "I dunno, but we're here aren't we?"

How many weeks had she known Emerald? Quite a few now, that's for sure. And this is the first time she was taken up to join her when she went to be trained, frankly, she kinda regretted it with how chaotic it was.

At least when it was just them that one time, it was fun and kinda relaxing in a weird way.

The only plus side to it all was that she got to see Celestine and Lelith fight, which was hard to watch, not because of the violence, no, that was easy, it was the fact they moved so fast that it was impossible to keep up. And that was before Kotek, the Custodian, fought Lelith.

Now those two fought tooth and nail for a good hour before Kotek brought it to an end.

Lelith seemed to think that her hair was some kind of bat or something and constantly tried to hit him with it. But he kept dodging it every time until she got angry and attempted to fake him out and use her hair again.

He used his long gun-knife- 'Guardian Spear' Emerald called it- and had her hair wrapped around it. He turned it and pulled her in and punched her in the gut so hard she flew into a wall, but she fell onto her feet and bent over clutching her stomach. She got up within a second, but the electric blue of the knife made her stop. It was over.

And the fact that Emerald had to tell her what had happened in the four seconds proved that she's a regular here. Though even Emerald was unsure if what she thought she saw was what actually happened…

She didn't know what was more impressive; an hour-long fight or that it was over in four seconds.

Both Lelith and Kotek seemed so much scarier now, especially with the permanent scowl the scantily clad woman now wore. Apparently, she was a sore loser…

Ilia turned to Emerald, who was trying to cool herself down by using her shirt as a fan, "so, what do you do now?"

"I, uh, have a break for fifteen minutes then go over to whoever is free," Emerald said, "it's tiring and I found it boring when I started, but it's gotten kinda fun now,"

Ilia blinked, "it smells and it's humid in here,"

Emerald shrugged, "and?"

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Not anymore," Emerald shrugged, "but yeah, it's fun with Celestine,"

Ilia looked to the Saint who was fighting a Specialist and instructed them, "she's a good fighter,"

"According to Kotek, she isn't even the best out of the five of them," Emerald sat up and rolled her shoulders with a wince, "it's a tie between Kotek and Lelith, I think,"

Ilia shuffled around to face Emerald directly, "why?"

"They're both really, really fast and no one lasts as long as they do against each other,"

There was a sudden loud bang and a series of shouts that caused Ilia to jump and Emerald to peer around her with a look of concern, "the hell was that?"

Over on the other side of the hall, a group of soldiers and Specialists lay sprawled on the floor with Lelith standing over them, a grin of pure malice on her face. One that disappeared when Kotek stepped up next to her.

"She beat them all?" Ilia looked back to Emerald,

Emerald nodded, "yeah, that group try once per session to beat her using different tactics, but uh," she gestured to the group, "that happens instead,"

"Doesn't she get annoyed by them?"

"Nope!" Emerald said with fake cheerfulness, "she seems to like that they get progressively angrier each time they get their asses handed to them,"

Ilia looked back to Lelith and Kotek who now stood talking to each other, "she really isn't that nice is she?"

"Hell no, she's a grade A ass," Emerald scowled, "she can't say something nice to save her life, like, if she does it's followed up by a kick to the balls because she'd find it funny. Hell, remember when you met her? She fucking walked out on us mid-conversation,"

"I wonder why…" Ilia muttered to herself,

Emerald scoted herself so she was next to Ilia, "Greyfax says it's because she's 'Drukhari', that she does weird and mean shit,"

Ilia looked at her in question, "is that a tribe from Mistral or something? Like the Brown-something or whatever their name is?"

"No, she's not human or Faunus apparently," Emerald said as she stared at the topic of conversation,

Ilia looked back at her too. She didn't believe it, and Emerald probably didn't either. As she stared she noticed that there was something fundamentally wrong about her that made her stand out from the Faunus and Humans…

"She's symmetrical," Ilia realised when Lelith faced them with a raised brow,

Emerald looked at her, "what?"

"You said a bit ago that she's the easiest person to project right?" Ilia said and watched curiously as Emerald tilted her head, "it's because she's symmetrical,"

"Huh…" she looked back and was startled when a blade impacted in front of her. A moment later Emerald looked back up, "Hey, bitch!"

"Mm, yes, insulting," Lelith rolled her eyes as she examined herself as she walked up to them, "I do not believe I am a female dog,"

Emerald thought for a moment, "what about a whore?"

"I can accept that," Lelith said without a care for the world around her. She put the blade's hilt between her toes and tore it out of the floor without the rest of her body moving, "Hresh do casoh tu ual a-thabarit redam ual ina,"

"What?" Emerald and Ilia said at the same time.

Lelith rolled her eyes again and caught the blade by the hilt without looking, "let your feet take you to a beyond where you'll stay," at the stares from the two girls she frowned, "you can leave."

Emerald's brows rose, "could have just told us to, dick,"

"I will when you get better insults, ota,"

Emerald rolled her eyes, "I will when you wear pants,"

"So never then."

Ilia giggled at the back and forth between them; as much as Emerald had said things about Lelith being mean, she wasn't any worse than Emerald herself. Maybe that was why they didn't like each other?

"Ugh, you're being a dick,"

"And yet you are as well,"

"You two could do this for hours, couldn't you?" Ilia asked innocently and got the exact same glare from the two of them,

"Could? We have." Emerald said, "she's a bitch,"

Ilia shrugged, "you're more friends than enemies,"

"Funny, Mon'keigh, your jokes are hilarious," Lelith spoke without a single trace of humour,

She looked between them in confusion, "But, like, you're funny when you argue,"

"Illa, I will slap you," Emerald glared at her, "Lelith is not my friend,"

She glanced between the two, "have you tried to be?"

"No-" -"I did!" they said at the same time… well, Lelith said blandly and Emerald exclaimed so loud it bordered on a shout,

"Just leave before I find something to do," Lelith threatened Emerald, "I know you love my company…"

Emerald glared as she got to her feet, "If I could hit you, I would,"

Lelith straightened and held her arms out to the side, a smirk lacing her lips. Ilia glanced between the two as Emerald looked to be stuck in debate. Her fist struck out and hit her abdomen with a meaty smack.

Lelith didn't move a muscle. "Feel better or do you want another go at showing how weak you are?"

Emerald sneered up at her as she turned away and left.

Ilia looked up at the redhead confusedly and caught Celestine staring oddly between the woman and the door Emerald left through in the distance. At a raised brow from Lelith, she followed rapidly after her friend.

She suddenly felt like it was time to go home...

She flicked.

"Stop it."

And again.

"Stop. it."

She paused for a minute.

And again.

Emerald spun around and slapped her hand, "Fucking stop!"

Lelith chuckled. The girl was fun, so full of emotion of nearly all varieties. The Inquisitor was fun to play with, but the stale anger long since wore its novelty off.

It said a lot that the giant plank of wood that was Kotek made for better entertainment, at least he could hold a conversation… even if it was to exploit her for information, the man wasn't as subtle as he thought. And it said a lot more that a child, of all creatures, was the most fun.

"What do you even want!?" Emerald glared, "I've got this paper-thing to do by tomorrow,"

Lelith shrugged, "so? I'm bored,"

Emerald stared incredulously, "then go annoy Celestine!"

"She's out somewhere,"

"Greyfax?"

"Boring."

"...Kotek?" the dying hope in the girl's voice was marvellous.

Lelith smiled, "He has his own tasks to complete." truth be told, she didn't have a clue what the giant was doing, but it probably involved having the thing near him, so, he was out of the question.

Besides, the stirring anger in the girl was much more interesting.

Emerald glared at her, "then fuck off, wouldya?"

Lelith kept her face as neutral as she possibly could and leant forward till their noses were touching, "No," and licked the girl's cheek,

"Ew, what the fuck!?" she wiped viciously with the sleeve of her shirt and gaged, "why!?"

Lelith cackled at the disgusted confusion, "why not? Your reactions are amusing,"

"So you lick me!?"

"Yes."

Emerald's eyes widened and then slowly flattened. So, she finally understood, "you just like fucking with people,"

"It's fun, but I do have a preference for duels," Lelith shrugged and rested on the back of Emerald's chair, "as I've said countless times to Celestine; I do what I want, no reasons needed,"

"How don't you feel bad about it?"

The endless cycle of death, torture, sex, performances and raids. The very nature of Commorragh itself not allowing for anything less than ambition and little room for self-preservation and an immense lust for power within even the lowest of Commorites. You could never feel anything for what you did, or death would surely find a knife in your back.

Lelith shrugged with one shoulder. The girl didn't need to know about Commorragh yet, "I just don't,"

The girl sputtered over her words briefly, "buh- wha-… you're weird as shit,"

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I know I do not fit into your perceived idea of normal, and I could care less about it; I am who I am, not what you want me to be,"

"All I want is for you to be a bit nicer," Emerald pleaded lightly, "I'm trying to be your friend, but you make it difficult,"

Hesperax slowly blinked and stared into Emerald's naturally red eyes. The dig the girl made that night stung a little, more than she'd admit to anyone. Her life was her own to whatever with, no Kabals or Wyches could say a thing about it. But nothing from Commorragh did. A memory forced its way through to the surface; A glass object opening to a reflective void.

Chasing something forever unreachable-

"Do you know what I was introduced as in the arenas of Commorragh?" Lelith tried distracting herself, "'the summit, the apotheosis of death. Beauty, grace and slaughter, and the Wych Queen.'"

"You're a queen?" Emerald asked with a cock of her head,

Lelith nodded boredly, "yes, to a degree. I do not officially rule all of the Wyches, but my reputation is great enough for them to bend over backwards to do as I say," she rolled her eyes at the countless attempts at flattery and assassinations, "some wanted to spend a night in my bed, others wanted my place. None succeeded. All of them died."

"You're that popular?"

She blew the one, long bang of hair off her face idly, "yes, my place is one of unrivalled power, my body sought after in every way possible," she chuckled at new memory, "I once held a competition; get me something worth my skill in the rings, and I would… reward them greatly,"

"Sex?" Emerald's nose scrunched, "ew, I don't need to imagine you like that…"

"Come now, I am not a nymphomaniac… mostly," Lelith said offhandedly then shook her head, "anyway, an Archon brought in an Astartes, a Saint of Blades. We fought for hours, dodging and weaving between strikes while the audience soaked up the blood sport."

"He gave me the one thing no one else ever had," she rose and ran her hand over the scar on her abdomen, "this scar cost him his life seconds later,"

Emerald's eyes traced over the only thing Lelith hated about herself. The Haemonculi could rid it from her body, but knowing them, they'd make worse blotches, and the foul concoctions would taint her perfect, uncorrupted and pure blood.

The girl looked up at her, "What did he get?"

"He thought he could do better, he died in four minutes because I dragged out the kill," she crouched back down, "and there is nothing better that I can bestow than being killed by my blades,"

"You…killed him…" Emerald muttered and shuffled back into her seat more,

Lelith nodded, "of course, he publicly challenged me and was the reason I have this scar. He tried to ruin my image twice. No one can do that and live."

Emerald quickly looked over her and her gaze settle on Lelith's hand that rested on the arm of the chair, "what about that one?"

Lelith hummed and held the hand up, "Yvraine. She gave it to me, not through skill, but Vect ordered me to take it. I still killed her in the end, but that woman came back moment's later…" she sighed and put her hand back down, "it was an… interesting series of events."

"If," Emerald forced herself to relax, which made for an amusing sight on principle alone, "if you don't like being touched, why did you let me punch you the other day?"

The question made her freeze. It was something she asked herself immediately after and the answer that came to her mind was- "respect."

"Wait, what?" Emerald looked as if her mind was two more steps behind than normal. She shook her head in disbelief, "respect?"

Lelith took a breath and her eyes flicked uncomfortably around, avoiding Emerald, "yes." the useless tension was more tedious than it should be, so, with a faint amount of reluctance, she tossed all pretences aside, "you do not bend, but stand firm, that is something I can respect."

And even though she won't admit it, even to herself, the fact someone threw back as good as she gave was fun. It made the genuine reactions that bit more delicious, like a dying prey that would not give up no matter how much blood is lost.

"Thanks?" Emerald said hesitantly, "I think?"

"You're welcome," Lelith stood and stretched. That was a conversation she didn't want to have any further, "what are the papers for?"

Emerald glanced back at them, "something to do with the Ordos Xenos on, uh, Craftworlds, they're called"

Now that was interesting. She spun Emerald's chair, and the girl gave a yelp of surprise, so she was facing the desk and leant over the back, "did the Inquisitor write this?"

"Yeah, she said she doesn't know much about them, but will try anyway," Emerald said, "how much do you know about Craftworlds?"

"Enough. My cousins are distant, but I've assaulted plenty in my time," Lelith sighed, "you want my help, don't you?"

Emerald nodded slightly, "Mm-hm,"

She rolled her eyes, "fine, it is better than being bored anyway,"

Emerald tilted her head back and gave a tight smile, "yay… what's-" she glanced at the paper- "Liam Eldannar?"

"LamEldannar," Lelith corrected with a grumble, "the spoken language of our species; It literally translates to The Eldar Language,"

"Oh!" Emerald said as she jotted down the answer, and grimaced at the disappointed look on Lelith's face, "look, I don't know your language, okay?"

"Clearly," Lelith sighed in resignation,

"So, what's my name?"

"Lasgel'di," Lelith said, "it literally translates to 'glowing green colour' or an Emerald,"

Emerald nodded slowly, repeating the word to herself, "does your's translate to anything?"

Lelith shook her head and sat on the desk, "no,"

"Aw, if it did it would be something like 'cunt'"

"Funny." She deadpanned. It was actually a bit amusing, but the girl didn't need to know that, "but no. It has no translation I am aware of,"

Emerald rose a brow, "how wouldn't you know that?"

"My kind is sixty-five million years old," Lelith leant back onto the window and brought a knee up for her arm to rest on, "so if there is a translation, it has been lost and most likely never found again,"

"Can you not put your foot on my desk?" Emerald frowned,

"The answer to the next question is 'Infinity Circuit', a collection of souls that teach the dead," she explained, ignoring the request to remove her foot entirely, "it is the closest any of our kind have to an afterlife anymore,"

Emerald jotted down what she was saying as fast as she could, "so, like, bodies are stuffed into it?"

"What? No, Spirit Stones are placed in it and the souls transfer over," she sighed and adjusted her hair so she wasn't sitting on it, "it is more complicated than that, but that is all I will say,"

The girl frowned at the red hair that covered her paper, though her eyes were caught by the hook that was woven into it. Lelith watched carefully as the girl picked it up gently and examined it.

Emerald slowly touched the tip of the barbed hook with her index finger and hissed when it pierced her skin with ease, "fuck, that's sharp,"

"It is a weapon," Lelith crossed her arms, "much like my blades,"

Emerald gently put it back on the table and caressed a handful of the red hair, "it's really soft,"

Now, this? This was beyond strange. A child near her and touching? Lelith ignored the bizarreness, "like a lot of what I do, it is deception and, admittedly, pride. My entire body is one of a kind, so I treat it as such,"

"So not all Drukhari have red hair?"

"It is common, but my shade is lighter, more exotic than the rest," Lelith corrected and explained, "my gene-sires were considered attractive, they had me; their greatest trophy, and that is something I will take from them willingly."

"But wouldn't the hooks and blades damage it?" Emerald asked and slowly brushed the ridiculous amount of hair off the papers, careful of the hooks and blades.

Lelith shook her head, "no, it is tougher than you think." to prove her point, she reached over Emerald to the other side of the desk and pulled a pair of regular scissors out of a stationary cup. She picked up a single strand of hair and put the very end of it between the scissors blades and cut.

The blades clicked and the stand remained attached, even when the scissors were opened again and removed, "see? The Aeldari physiology is much more durable than yours, we are tougher, faster, stronger and enhanced in every way,"

Emerald rose a brow, "does that mean your skin is tougher as well? Like, harder to cut?"

Lelith nodded, "yes, and no, I will not be giving a demonstration," she said and tossed the scissors idly back into the cup causing it to wobble and then fall onto its side.

"You're an asshole," Emerald said suddenly and cleaned up the small mess, "but you can be nice when you want to be,"

"Was that meant to be a compliment?"

"I mean, yeah?" Emerald sighed, "you normally lash out at anyone who tries to touch you, but… you didn't just then,"

She sighed slowly and her arms relaxed from their fold a little, "because, and I for once do not mean this as an insult, know you are not a threat,"

Emerald laughed bitterly, "I want to hurt you, you know-"

-"But you won't," Lelith finished for her, "whether that is because you are scared of repercussions or you honour the now mutual respect, matters little to me; but the fact you won't does."

"I still think you're an asshole," Emerald frowned, "I've tried being nice, but you've been mean,"

Lelith rolled her eyes, "be more like Celestine, acknowledge that I will not change for anyone but myself, then you may find it easier,"

Emerald looked her up and down, "Can you at least change into something else?"

A snort left her, "nice try, but no,"

This girl was persistent, she had to give her that. But really, she may only be in her leathers, it wasn't like she was naked. Weird standards these people had. What was so wrong with a body? Celestine certainly didn't care, though she suspected it was having pride in her god's creation…

Did the Saint even realise that the Emperor didn't create humanity? That she was prideful of nothing more but a rare case of evolution making something barely useful to the galaxy?

Lelith shrugged, "Why should I not be prideful of my body? It is my own, I do what I want with it when I want. It is perfection,"

"Becau-" the girl stopped herself in thought for a few seconds. She then glared into Lelith's purple eyes, "you get around with no clothes because you know I'm uncomfortable with it, don't you?"

Lelith had to admit she was right, "perhaps." just not directly.

Emerald's mouth flopped open as she tried to find the words, "you- wh-" she gave up and tossed her hands in the air, "you're a dick, but fuck it, I can't be bothered caring about it anymore,"

To test the theory, she immediately pulled her top over her head and her hair though. It landed with a soft thump on the bed and Emerald sighed in exasperation, "you have boobs, cool. Get better material,"

Huh. ow. That wasn't an insult to her looks, but it sure felt like one. "Why try and change perfection?" she flipped it around back on the girl,

"Because seeing your piercings is boring now,"

Her heated cheeks said otherwise, but she was trying so hard at making it seem like it meant nothing to her anymore to the point it was cute. "I was not kidding when I asked why I shouldn't be prideful, you've yet to give an answer,"

"You really do think you're perfection…" Emerald muttered and Leith laughed,

"Think? No, I am," she leant back again and the cold glass on her skin felt refreshing, even as the snow slowly picked up outside, cooling the glass more.

Emerald? She let out a mix of a sigh and groan as she went tiredly back to the paper, "whatever, Lelith, whatever…"

Her brows rose at that response. She really was pushing through being uncomfortable. That was both somehow respectable and mildly infuriating given that it involved ignoring her, the embodiment of perfection and grace.

She looked over the papers questions. Many seemed to be only the bare basics and nothing more, like 'what is a Craftworld made of?'. Wraithbone. She said as such and moved onto the next question.

"Would a Far Seer be just some guy with binoculars?" Emerald joked,

Lelith let the laugh overtake her. It was stupid, insulting to the craft and all-around childish. But they would hate such a pitiful attempt at mocking such an important role. She could imagine the looks on their faces at such a joke to be nothing less than anger.

"That is something I'll use when I see one next," she chuckled genuinely, "but I know you don't know what they actually are,"

Emerald nodded, "no clue,"

"So…"

She stood in line just like everyone else. It would be nice to just cut in front but it felt underserved here, she wasn't the Saint of the Imperium. Just a regular, albeit tall and muscular, woman.

Celestine crossed her arms and waited for the line to move up. It felt odd being wingless; she looked over her shoulder every few seconds thinking they would take some poor sod out when she moved. But she made sure they were gone in such an enclosed public space.

The restaurant was as spartan as the rest of Atlas; grey, white and a bit of blue made up the colours of the store. It was even stranger to have a- what did Ilia call it the other day?- A 'Pop-song' play over the speakers instead of a Hymn. Spaced tables and seats sat around for people to eat in while a series of structures acted as a playground for children.

It was nothing like the games in the Schola she went to, it was more innocent and calm. Unlike the Scrumball matches. Celestine puffed her chest with pride; being the number one in the games was still something she held dear… that and being the queen of putting other cadets into the infirmary as many times as she went as well.

It was safe to say, broken bones were as regular as the live-fire practices she participated in.

The Saint shook her head fondly at the memory. By the Emperor, it was enough for the Hospitaller to try and get her to join the ranks with her with how often she found herself in the infirmary. But the battlefields were where she belonged. She knew that from the day she stepped into the Schola, even though the Abbots thought that if she trained hard enough, the Tempestus Scions were right for her.

They knew not His ways, His calling for the Sisters on the battlefield that bled in her heart.

The line, once again, moved forward.

It was strange not being recognised- no armour, nor wings or Ardent Blade. Just the warmest clothes she could find. It was kind of relaxing, now that she thought about it. Being just another one of the many people minding their business. No glares or stares, nothing.

Eventually, the line moved up enough for her turn to order. She did so, took the numbered receipt after she paid and moved to the side.

No special treatment, no fanfare. She looked around to make sure some random Sororita wasn't trying to get close out of habit. Only bored and impatient civilians stood in line, while others sat and ate. A group of uniformed kids, on the brink of puberty, she guessed by the acne some had, laughed as one told a story of some kind.

Her number was called and she took the paper bag with a smile. She left and made her way through the afternoon sun lit city by foot.

It was amazing how large the chunk of land Atlas sat upon really was; something like fifty kilometres from one end to the other, not to mention the actual height of the Academy being so large. It all still had very little on, say a Hive or even a frigate of the Navis Imperialis, but it was still quiet large.

The population of the planet was rather small, standing at a rough ten million- how many regiments was that? Six, maybe seven? Not many, but given the Grimm, it was still an impressive number.

That left a quarter of the ten million to live in Atlas and Mantle with enough room to live and be self-sustaining.

The idea to lift an entire piece of land into the sky was an odd choice, but with the Grimm below, that left only the Nevermore and other aerial Grimm to deal with in Atlas, and the rest for Mantle.

"The more I think about this, the more the emphasis on Airships makes sense…" she muttered and pulled a fry out of the bag and ate it while the shadow of a Centurion cast over her.

Glass reflected the orange glow of the afternoon sun as snow steadily increased as the temperature dropped. The activity on the streets dissipated as she weaved through the crowds of businessmen and women alike.

"You look familiar…"

Celestine startled for a moment and looked down beside her, Ilia stared back up, "that's because I am,"

"Ah-ha!" the girl cheered to herself then paused, "wait, where're your wings?"

With a woosh and gust of displaced air the glowing wings materialised, shocking the civilians as they dodged the random appearance, "I'm human, Ilia,"

There was a tinge of disappointment in her eyes, "oh… they're still really cool!"

"Thank you, I guess…" Celestine scratched the back of her head with a sniff,

Ilia stood in silence for a moment, then tilted her head, "Is Emerald doing anything?"

Celestine shook her head, "not that I'm aware of, last I saw her she was completing work given to her by Greyfax,"

Ilia avoided her eyes with an embarrassed blush, little spots on her cheeks lit a slightly lighter pink than normal. It took a moment, but the Saint ignored it as Kotek's words came to mind, "Can I come over? I tried texting her during my break, but she never responded…"

She sighed and gestured her to follow and she furled her wings up as much as possible, "may as well, she's probably spent the day with Lelith,"

"She's weird but kinda cool!" Ilia exclaimed happily, "did you know she's an artist?"

"Yes, I am more than aware of what she is," Celestine grumbled, "the woman is skilled, that I can not deny after watching her and Kotek fight,"

"I know! They're so fast, and really scary," Ilia waddled along next to her happily, "but his spear weapon is cool!"

That garnered a chuckle from the woman, "it is an impressive tool, yes. But I expect no less from His warriors,"

Ilia glanced up at her, hugging her books to her chest, "Does he always wear that armour? It looks uncomfy…"

"He does sometimes remove the helmet…" now that she gave it thought, he never took off his armour. The others did, she did, but he never once has. "Huh, I've never seen him without it…" Celestine shivered as the wind picked up and snowfall increased, "I can't wait for the heating again,"

Ilia nodded rapidly, "it's coming from the mountains up here because we're so high up,"

"Figures, these people are new Valhallans in the making…" she mumbled and lead Ilia to the foyer of the apartment building she lived in. The heat hit her the moment she entered and she stood for a moment, relishing it as much as possible.

"Warm~" Ilia shivered at the temperature change, "lucky, Mantle's heating isn't that good,"

Celestine glanced at her in mild surprise and lead her to the elevator, "you live in Mantle?"

Ilia nodded, "yup, my parents pay for me to go to school up here because I'm more likely to become a Hunter,"

She made the trek every day up to Atlas? Well, the girl was committed then. "You want to go to the Academy?"

"Yeah, I'm at a prep school now so I'm ready for when I'm older!" the girl said cheerfully, "I'm getting there!"

Celestine glanced a the child, "I'm sure you are…"

The hallways were as warm as she hoped, and the apartment had its shutters down, blocking the heat in. The fact that they had shutters was surprising the first time found out, mainly because she had all of three seconds of Emerald finding, and pressing a random button before she could stop her from touching the said button.

It was safe to say it was a pleasant surprise and Emerald had a stern talking to about random, unknown buttons.

"Who's that?" Ilia pointed to the framed portrait on the counter,

Without looking, Celestine flashed the Aquila, "the Emperor,"

"Oh, okay," Ilia bounced on her feet, "thank you for letting me come,"

Celestine gave the girl a reluctant pat on the head as she passed, "you're welcome,"

She walked down the hall to Emerald's room with Ilia following behind. Celestine opened the door.

"-there is no modifier to make it Winged Lady…" Lelith hummed for a moment, "Arios-arti Ca would work as well; Golden-Female One. Whereas Arios Ca would be Kotek,"

"Golden One," Emerald filled in with a hum, "huh,"

Celestine glanced between Emerald and Lelith, one at the desk while the other laid sprawled out on the bed face down, "I've walked in one something, haven't I?"

Emerald jolted slightly and looked over, "uh, kinda?"

"LamEldennar," Lelith mumbled half-heartedly into the mattress, "we were figuring out your name,"

"And you did that face down on Emerald's bed?"

Emerald shrugged, "I don't mind," she sniffed, "food?"

Celestine rolled her eyes and walked over to the desk, Ilia, once again, following behind, "yes, food, and a friend,"

Emerald peered around and waved happily, "hello,"

Ilia waved back and squeezed around Celestine to sit on the floor next to Emerald. Almost spontaneously, they started talking about random things that came to their mind while Emerald held out the cardboard container of chips for Ilia to take some. So this was the girl she was so scared of? The small, happy, girl…

Seeing the joy in Emerald's eyes… Celestine smiled slightly; this was what she was missing. A friend. Celestine glanced at Lelith, who now made soft snores, "and that is one of the deadliest people I've met…"

She felt safe to say, this was nowhere near what she thought the new millennium would bring.

And she certainly didn't expect those two to have a civil conversation when left alone. Then again, she didn't think a civil conversation with Lelith was possible when she first shoved the Ardent Blade in her face…

"-I can't tomorrow, I'm going to find Greyfax and ask her some stuff when I hand the work back," Emerald said with a mouth full of burger,

The delay Greyfax made on acting was surprising, but there was a part of the Saint that had the feeling it was on purpose somehow; to get Emerald to take initiative or something. But the Inquisitor was right on one thing, she wasn't a police officer, nor a civil servant. What ever was happening with the girl Emerald wanted to help just wasn't their job to deal with.

Besides, who knew if Emerald wasn't just finding things where there weren't any, or if she was telling the truth about the other girl.

"Want me to evict her?" Celestine asked Emerald with a nod to Lelith,

"I am awake,"

The trio looked to the bed, and sure enough, Lelith was still face down. For the first time in a long time, the Saint had no idea what to think, "This is one of the most dangerous people I've met?" she asked to no one,

Lelith rolled over and glared at Celestine, "I can be tired. I'm not a machine,"

The fact she was this tired, to begin with, was surprising enough…

"Clearly," Celestine snarked, then sighed as the woman rolled over and pulled the pillows tighter, "put something better on so you don't get charged for indecent exposure,"

"I am fine with what I wear, thank you. You and Emerald are the exact same, I swear to Isha…" Lelith muttered to herself in annoyance, "If your Custodian weren't here, I'd kill you both,"

"No you wouldn't," Celestine dismissed the legitimate threat casually, "and you will if you want your own damn bed to whore out in,"

Lelith sat up and glanced between Emerald and Celestine, "if it weren't for the difference in appearance, I would swear you two were the same, just one's smaller,"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Emerald said and tossed an empty wrapper at her, only for it to be caught and thrown back.

"Where is the bed going?"

"The room across; it's empty except for the spare ammunition," Celestine shrugged. Everything in it was confiscated for investigation a few weeks back, leaving the room empty til now, "I can put it in my room,"

Lelith nodded and walked off the bed, "why?"

"If I have to deal with you for the foreseeable future, I may as well make sure there's little for you to complain constantly about," Celestine waved the children goodbye and left them to their own devices,

Lelith followed at her side out to the kitchen, "I have literally never complained consistently. Made comments, yes, but not complain,"

"Okay, fair, but my point still stands," Celestine smirked at her, "I don't want to hear your voice more than I have to,"

"I have a lovely voice," Lelith held a hand to her chest, a mix of playfulness and legitimate insult in her eyes,

Celestine, for all she's worth, chuckled at the banter, "I wouldn't say lovely, but it is far better than other Xenos. He knows how much I hate the nasal screech of the T'au…"

"You like my voice and won't admit it," she leant on the counter as Celestine rummaged through the fridge,

"I'm forced to live with you," Celestine threw over her shoulder, "no use being irritated at you all the time,"

She pulled a bottle of unopened juice out, closed the fridge and turned. Lelith held her head in one hand as she bent over onto the counter, putting more on display than any being would've liked. Celestine rolled her eyes at the smug, knowing look she was given and drank from the bottle.

"So," Lelith stood and tapped her fingers in a perfect tune on the counter idly, "Emerald has developed a rather snarky side,"

The Saint nodded, "she has, but I can't complain. She never used to talk back and was rather silent," she chuckled, "wouldn't surprise me if we're the cause of it,"

Lelith snorted and nodded in agreement, "true. It is strange that she is one of the few who has given me back talk and lived,"

"Because I would kill you if you did anything," Celestine growled with a glare.

Lelith rolled her eyes, "no, I mean-" she paused in thought, "I wouldn't harm her,"

That was interesting. Celestine put the juice back and came up on her side of the counter, "wouldn't or couldn't?"

"Couldn't." Lelith sighed, "I hate this,"

Celestine tilted her head, more than one thing confused her, "Having emotion or making a friend?"

The fact that said potential friend was nine wasn't the most comforting thought in the world.

"Can we get this bed?" Lelith grumbled and thumbed the direction of the living room, "I want somewhere better to sleep than that couch,"

Celestine nodded with a sigh, "put something on and let's go,"

The fact that Emerald and Lelith were in the same room, for an extended period of time, and didn't try and kill each other was… interesting. But it was better than the alternative.

Lelith reappeared with a pair of pants and a jacket, that she refused to do up, on, "let's go, I want to watch people in the storm,"

Celestine shook her head in exasperation, "Of course you do," she patted the woman on the arm as she made her way to the front door, "why do you think I'm not teleporting it back?"

"Aw, the Imperial is letting me revel in suffering?" Lelith teased, "how nice,"

"better than you doing it yourself," Celestine muttered. It was hard to think that this was what life had for her, but here she was. This planet better have something worth being here for...

Roman danced slightly as he barged his way into the club, waving his cane around as he went and just so happened to hit every one of Junior's boys by accident.

"Oh, Junior~" he called over the music and slid into a free seat by, what he would say to be, the single best-looking woman he'd seen in a long time. Long, light blonde hair and turquoise eyes.

He winked back and opened his mouth to start talking, but the boring wall of irritation stepped between them. He frowned and looked up to Junior, "well, you're a ray of sunshine tonight!"

"Follow me," the man growled and stormed off to a staff-only exit.

Roman scoffed and looked back to where the woman should have been, "asshole,"

He grumbled and straightened his bowler and followed after the man. The two suited guards let him pass with a frown and he smiled while he gave them both pats on the back. The mobster giggled manically when they tried to shove him off but he dodged carelessly between them.

Roman sighed with a smirk and marched down the lavish halls, searching for the owner. At least he could get some fun around here. Well, he thought so up until he spotted Junior standing in a doorway with his arms crossed.

"Jeez, lighten up, would ya?" he muttered as he walked into the room, "have some fun!"

Junior slammed the door closed, "I don't have to be happy Roman! The Underground is buzzing with shit about the arrest in Atlas," the man sat at his desk and placed a fist on top, "it set a precedent for our types; that we've lost control up there,"

"Was bound to happen eventually, bucko," Roman waltzed around the room, "Neo, dear, get a glass for me?"

Junior looked at him, perplexed for a moment, "What?" a tiny girl materialised on his desk as glass rolled off her form. She plucked one of his Whisky glasses up and tossed it to Roman, who barely caught it with a chuckle, "who the hell is this!?"

"Neo meet Junior, the info-guy for us little scumbags!" Roman said, not at all paying much attention to the bafflement on Juniors face, instead, helping himself to the man's personal booze, "now, with that out of the way, got some good news on our dear Inquisitor?"

Junior tried to push Neo off the desk, but the tiny girl avoided it like a cat did being picked up. He gave up with a sigh, "she looks twelve, Roman."

The girl scowled and flicked all ten of her fingers once and then four.

"Fourteen then, not that this makes it any better…"

"I'm not fucking her," Roman spat with disgust and sat in the chair opposite Junior, "the hell is wrong with you?"

Junior rolled his eyes and ignored the girl's taunting tongue and scrunched face from her, "kidnapping is still a major crime, especially with that couple dead,"

"I have never kidnapped a child and I have no idea what you're talking about," Roman sipped from his glass and finished with an exaggerated sigh, "so~? News? Gimme,"

"Fine, fine," Junior rolled his eyes, "you know the basics, Greyfax, Inquisitor- and apparently not the Inquisition of old,"

"Oh, great, not the Faunus hunting psychos in red," Roman deadpanned and waved his hand idly, "surprise, fear and yada-yada. She wears the title for fun?"

"No, on the forms I got a copy of she's a part of the 'Holy Order of the Emperor's Inquisiton',"

"What?" Roman tuned his head so his ear faced the man, "say again, but slower?"

"You heard me, jack off," Junior sighed and placed his papers down, "she was able to interrogate the prisoners from Glenn,"

Now that was interesting, "oh, and what happened?"

"two broken kneecaps, four fractured ribs and a punctured lung and testicle," Junior squirmed as Roman looked disgusted. Neo blinked and smiled at the description of the injuries, "that was just the male. The female fared little better… Roman, let her go, or if you shoot, make sure you kill,"

The mobster glanced at Neo and chuckled, "well, I've shot already the moment you got a name and location, so…"

Junior sat forward and his demeanour lost what little humour he had to begin with, "What did you do?"

"Well, I spent a few hundred,"

"Few hundred what?"

"Thousand Lien…" he cringed as he said it,

Junior looked as if he was bound to explode, and if the Lien was causing this…

"well, I guess it's my time to leave, buddy!" Roman stood and downed the last of his drink, "Come along, Neo!"

"Roman!" Junior screamed and the man froze just as he made it to the door., "what the fuck did you do!? Damn it, you asshole, if this goes south, I'm caught in the crossfire!"

Roman turned and tilted his hat, "well, you better hope Marcus is worth every penny you spent!"

With that said, Roman fled the room, not wanting to deal with the man as he screamed after him, "My money!? What do you mean by my money!?"

Roman cringed harder and looked at the girl, "Neo, let's go!"

The girl nodded enthusiastically and jumped up onto his shoulders. A wave of sparkling glass overtook them, making them invisible to every eye and camera in the building. Roman sped-walked as fast as he could to the nearest exit.

He found one just a bit further down the hall to the right and immediately burst through it, even though it shattered Neo's illusion, and took off in a sprint down the alley and then the street until he was sure Junior was nowhere near them.

"Well, that went well, don't ya think?" he asked the girl as she slipped off him,

"You pissed him off,"

Roman shrugged, "he'll get over it, Neo, don't worry about it,"

Neo glared up at him, "you put a hit on an Atlesian official!"

"So, Marcus doesn't know it was me who hired him, just that he got a name, photo of the target and a shit ton of Lien," Roman pulled a cigar out of his coat,

"She'll never know it was me!" he pulled a drag and blew it out. From the corner of his eye he caught the unblinking glare Neo gave him, "look, there's no way she'll know it was me, ever, I scrubbed everything myself when I got the news,"

"Roman Torchwick, twenty-five, a career criminal and main suspect of the Vanille murders in Vale," Greyfax slapped the folder onto Celestine's lap, "and where some of the money was being funnelled to,"

Celestine rose her brows as she picked up the folder, "okay? Tell Ozpin and have him arrested,"

"Why tell Ozpin of our new informant?" Greyfax smirked, "the old man is paranoid and hiding something, and I want to keep an eye on him,"

The Saint sat up and flicked through the pages, "Trivia Vanille, deceased alongside her parents when their house detonated…" Celestine looked up at the Inquisitor, "this is the house that exploded a month or so back, isn't it?"

Greyfax nodded and sat on the couch, "the one and only. Now, I think they're wrong about the kid," Greyfax sat forward and tapped an image of a brown-haired girl with two brown eyes, "Roman has a new accomplice, a small girl known as Neopolitan. I think they're the same kid,"

"Did her parents hate her? What type of name is that?" Celestine muttered with a shake of her head,

"This planet loves colours, hell, you have a girl with green hair called Emerald,"

Said girl pulled her nose out of the book she was reading on the other side of the couch. Ilia flicked through the drawing in awe, ignorant of the world around her, "huh?"

"Cain's bio, not a bad choice," Greyfax nodded and faced the Saint, "anyway, she appeared next to him a week later during a bank robbery. No known images of her appearance exists, but she's silent and rather good with a hidden blade of some type,"

"His escape aide," Celestine concluded, "I take it a Semblance covers her identity?"

Greyfax nodded, "yes, that much is known of Neopolitan, but, her surfacing is a bit convenient after a family dies and the body of their child is never found,"

"So she works for a bad guy now?" Emerald asked, "that sounds strange,"

"Wait, what about eyewitness accounts? Surely someone saw her," Celestine asked,

The Inquisitor shook her head, "no, they've all been different in appearance from height to build. The only commonality is the silence and weapon,"

Celestine nodded as she processed the information, "was there any indication of grooming?"

"No. however, Trivia had a history of 'imaginary friends' that she blamed on everything," Greyfax said and leant forward, "she's caused trouble for them quite a bit for a fourteen-year-old,"

Celestine snorted, "I have my own ball of trouble,"

"Hey!"

Celestine ignored Emerald's protest with a smile, "This is good and all, but what if this is found out by Ironwood? If you found all this, he will too,"

"James'll have information on Roman and Neopolitan, yes," Greyfax smirked smugly, "but I scrubbed what little connections Roman missed when he cleaned house, this is all that's left to prove Roman was taking money from companies through a fraudulent accountant,"

"Blackmail," Celestine summarised with a chuckle, "you beautiful woman,"

"Hah!" the Inquisitor rose, "now we need to just get Hesperax down there anonymously and voila! We have our own private network to watch Ozpin, like he has Ironwood has been doing,"

As much as the General helped, he didn't make it hard to figure out he was watching them. Celestine rose a brow at her, "you really trust her to be left alone like that?"

"Hell no," the Inquisitor took the folder, "the bitch is the only one who can blend in well enough in the underground, and if she does get spotted we can say she went rouge and hunt her,"

"Kat, she trusts us to a minor extent," Celestine realised what she just said with a shake of her head, "odd, I know, but that is valuable, especially because of who she is. Not to mention an ally of an ally to Guilliman. Killing her could step on a Primarchs foot,"

Greyfax stared Celestine down blankly for a moment, "shit, I hate that you're right for a multitude of reasons…"

"He willed it, so I can't complain," Celestine shrugged and glanced at the framed portrait of the Emperor, "she must be here for a reason,"

The Inquisitor blinked slowly, then shook her head. The argument was lost before it even started the moment He was brought up. "As I'm sure He did. The fact remains that she won't be staying long over there; only to set up and leave, maybe occasionally perform check-ins,"

Celestine nodded, "alright, when's she leaving?"

"During the festival, Ozpin will be here with his assistant, Glynda, so the Kingdom won't be monitored," Greyfax tipped her hat and walked out the door, leaving Emerald to choke back her question she left too late to ask.

She sighed and continued reading the accounts of Cain, resigning the question for tomorrow when she handed the paper on Craftworlds back.

"Is this your dad?" Ilia piqued up and held the image of Sanguinius up.

"Really?" Celestine sighed while Emerald rolled around in laughter, "you know my wings aren't physical,"

Ilia paused then shrugged, "oh, yeah, I forgot,"

The Saint sighed as Emerald laughed a bit more.

A/N

What's this? Lelith letting someone hit her? On purpose!? *le gasp!*

I want Emerald and Lelith to reach a point of if an outsider looked in, they'd think the two hate each other, but in actuality, they're friends who mutually bully each other for shits.

Oh, Roman, you made an oopsie-poopsie… a big one. He was always in the firing line with Greyfax, he just never knew it.

Also, I am aware of the timeline discrepancies with Neo and her age, but I completely forgot the book, 'Roman Holiday', gave actual lore into Roman and Neo's meeting. Oh well.

Take a guess who the title references. I wonder who it could be~?

The joys of pre-written parts, I barely have to do anything except edits and stuff to make sure it fits!

Review time.

Sgtitanwolf: absoluteley fantastic, can't wait to see more from Lord kotek

First off, I'm sorry for not responding in the last chapter. Idk what happened, it just slipped my mind.

Secondly, you got more Kotek immediately, so that's a win! And thanks for the compliment!

Saitama1155: its weird celestine doesnt trust the faunus that much but all the faunus straight up love her can't wait for the next chapter this is my favorite fic on the website right now

Well, I mean, she is a golden, winged woman in a world where people can naturally have wings, gills, cat ears and all other stuff, so it makes sense she'd be liked. And she's learning that being suspicious for literally no reason is a waste of time thanks to the telling-off she got by Kotek.

She's always going to be Big E's no. 1 fan, but she's going to evolve more than I thought a while back.

And thanks, I hope it continues to be one of your favourites!

BloodRedRoses11: Oh good, another chapter! Well i was not expecting that, but ask for more every week wold kill you, so let's put it aside... for now. So, going to the chapter,i have not much to say, it's a more character development for Emerald and Celestine( a cute moment btw). I think the suggestion i can give is make a scene with Lelith pov. I guess the last one is the fight with Kotek, that... well, is a fight, not exactly a character development.

Anyway, keep the good work and see you next time!

Surprise! More chapters and, well, Lelith stuff. Our Murder-Whore is evolving from a total piece of shit, to slightly less of one! She'd still stab a bitch if given the chance though. There are fundamentals of the characters I can't change, like Lelith's willingness to kill, torture, duel and all that stuff is one of them.

But her viewpoints on certain individuals I can change. I.e. Emerald and Celestine.

Monster King: Good job

thanks!