Chapter 5…
The small room was lavish, tastefully decorated and coloured in pleasing modern tones. Out across the floor stretched a very fine Mistralian rug, decorated in hand-sewn swirls of red and gold. The walls of the room had been paneled with fine mahogany wood, hiding the cold grey walls that rested beyond.
The furniture was simple but elegant. A neatly made bed with thick covers and a comforter, wall-to-wall bookcases filled to the brim with both fiction and non-fiction works…
A holo-screen, a writing desk and chair… even a separate bathroom compartment…
Even the ambiance of the room was appropriate… a quiet and gentle symphony of violins filled the air; the sound emanated from the small sound system that had been installed in one corner of the room.
But all these good things paled in comparison to the finely carved wooden chess set. The ancient game of strategy and wits had been neatly laid out on a small table. Soft leather armchairs that had been dyed an appealing green flanked either side of the arena.
Both chairs were occupied by men of considerable height and build.
The chair on the left side of the table had been claimed by a man with dark hair and striking blue eyes. His beard had grown longer and wilder in the last month, clashing terribly with the blue, whites and reds of his neatly pressed Atlesian uniform.
The chair on the right side of the table was occupied by his opponent. The other man was dressed neatly in a tweed suit and dress shoes, fitting in amongst the backdrop of his lavish abode. His dark green hair had grown in somewhat, covering his otherwise round head with a sheen of thick fuzz. He too had blue eyes, but they were a lighter shade than his companion's.
Two pairs of blue eyes scanned the chessboard below…
General James Ironwood gently grasped one of his knights between his fingertips. He lifted the knight over one of his pawns and set it down on the board with a gentle "click". With his move complete the imposing man leaned back into his armchair.
"An interesting move," Verdant Bulwark spoke quietly. His brawny fingers gently toyed with one of his bishops as he considered his move. "Are you feeling bold today?"
"My schedule for today is quite packed," Ironwood frowned. "Forgive me if I'm acting hastily…"
"Now, now… the great Atlesian General acting sloppily in battle," Verdant joked as he moved his bishop across the board. "I sincerely hope that you don't conduct yourself like this outside of this room…"
"You sound… disappointed…"
"Well yes," Verdant leaned back into his chair. "Why… the only person I can actually converse with is you… these chess games greatly alleviate my boredom…"
"Boredom?" Ironwood raised an eyebrow as he made his move. With his piece laid down he too leaned back into his chair. The General raised his arms and swept around in gesture to the room's many comforts. "Are you finding your accommodation… insufficient?"
"Oh no it's quite sufficient," Verdant hastily answered with a concealed smile. "But the guards make for terrible conversation…"
"You know they won't respond…"
"And that is why I like these little chess games," Verdant gestured to the finely carved board. "Speaking to you is the highlight of my week…"
Ironwood smirked in response. "I would feel flattered if that was said by… anyone else other than you, Verdant. Shall we continue the game?"
"Let's…" Verdant leaned down to scout out his next move. He tapped his large fingers against two of his pawns. "So… have you been successful in Mantle thus far?"
"If you mean deconstructing your little empire, then yes," Ironwood watched carefully as Verdant made his move. "Two nights ago your nephew and his team, as well as a few others, stormed one of your warehouses... "
"Well, it's not like I need any of those operations anymore," Verdant gently chewed his lower lip in thought.
"There is some irony here," Ironwood commented. "The leader of the gang… selling out all of his men…"
"Oh, they aren't my men anymore," Verdant scoffed as Ironwood took his turn. "I paid them generously to work for me. With me gone they'll find someone else to mooch off of."
"Perhaps your little empire was less stable than you thought…"
"If you want a house to fall, tear out the foundation," Verdant muttered, the slightest edge of spite creeping into his deep voice. "But the past is the past…"
Verdant snagged one of Ironwood's pawns…
"This is what captures my attention now," Verdant gestured to the board. He straightened his back and gestured to the lavish room around him. "This chessboard and the beautiful cage that you've locked me in… your move…"
Ironwood made another move, Verdant made his as well. Their respective pieces slowly whittled down in number.
"Going back to my nephew and his team…" Verdant muttered.
"What of them?"
"How have they been doing?" Verdant tilted his head, his cool blue eyes shining with curiosity. "Studying hard, I imagine?"
"The four of them have shown great aptitude thus far," Ironwood moved his queen to claim one of Verdant's bishops. "I'm quite glad that they've decided to stay in Atlas and finish their studies."
"Oh hush," Verdant chuckled in a low tone. "You're just happy to have a mop with which to clean up your messes…"
"I think you mean your messes…" Ironwood chuckled. "But I can't deny that having them around is useful…"
For a moment, the room was silent, save for the clinking of chess pieces against the wooden board.
"Have you told them yet?" Verdant asked in a low tone. His blue eyes flicked up from the board to view the man sitting across from him.
"Told them what?"
"The truth," Verdant elaborated as he moved one of his pieces. "About what goes on behind the scenes… and you know who…"
"No," Ironwood frowned. "They haven't asked so I haven't told them anything… but they know enough…"
"I'm still surprised that they declined to know more," Verdant drew his lips into a tight line. "I was enthralled when I first learned about the relics and… you know who…"
"As was I… but I will respect their decision to remain ignorant…" Ironwood looked away from the board for a moment. "It was their choice…"
"Interesting," Verdant licked his lips. He moved his queen across the board, slicing through Ironwood's defences and putting his king in danger. "Checkmate…"
Ironwood blinked in confusion before finally relenting. "I concede…"
Verdant leaned back into his armchair and gave Ironwood a smug look. He raised one arm and traced a brawny finger against the top of the armrest.
"What is it?" Ironwood muttered.
"Hmm?"
"I know that look on your face," Ironwood spoke slowly, rising up a little in his seat. "You get that look whenever you're about to say something… cryptic..."
"Cryptic? Not a word I would use to describe myself," Verdant chuckled. "But yes… I have a question for you. How long do you think it will be until my nephews team is forced to learn the truth about Remnant? About… you know who…"
Ironwood turned his head to the left to peer at the nearest wall. Well… there wasn't a wall at all - instead, a glowing blue force field. Just outside the lavishly decorated cell, scores of soldiers paced back and forth with their rifles held at the ready.
Ironwood wordlessly stood up from his chair and shucked his coat over his shoulders. He nodded at one of the soldiers on the other side of the force field. "It's an inevitability..."
"Interesting…" Verdant trailed off. The man leaned back into his seat and tapped his fingers together in thought. "Well, don't let me keep you here. Goodbye, James."
"Goodbye, Verdant."
The force field momentarily fizzled out of existence and Ironwood stepped out of the cell.
Elsewhere…
Mauve's grip on her twin blades tightened, her opponent followed suit.
The lynx girl was in the sprawling training room of Atlas Academy- and she wasn't alone. Winter Schnee - dressed in her usual uniform - was slowly and carefully pacing to the left; Mauve carefully padded to the right, ensuring a constant distance between the two opponents.
When Ironwood had offered to let them stay in Atlas, his deal had come with a variety of perks. One such perk was personal training sessions with the General and his right-hand woman. It was an incredible opportunity that Mauve would've been insane to ignore…
Mauve and Winter continued to circle each other. Their movements were slow and deliberate, like two tigresses crouching in the brush of the Vacuaon savannah, waiting for an opening.
"Fight already!" A voice in the distance called, briefly dragging Mauve's attention away from Winter.
Asher was sitting against one of the training room's shifting pylons. He was at a suitable safe distance and lounging around lazily, his gloved hands patting impatiently against his pant legs.
Rust and Sage were off somewhere else; but if Mauve had to guess, the two of them were most likely in the weight room.
The reason for their absence was because for the first time in a long time Team MARS had a day off. They had had classes that morning, but were shocked to learn that Combat class had been canceled for the day, leaving them with a free afternoon and evening.
Asher had opted to join Mauve in the training room, and Winter Schnee had been kind enough to reschedule their training session in the now vacant time slot.
Mauve tore her attention away from Asher and back towards Winter. She did it at the perfect time as well; as she was forced to twist her midsection to avoid a direct strike that would have skewered her.
Mauve leapt backwards and raised her blades to try and block Winter's sudden offensive flurry. The Atlesian officer was blindingly fast, combining sharp jabs and light slashes to keep Mauve on her toes. The lynx girl hastily parried away the strikes and slammed her foot into the ground.
"That was a little cheap," Mauve growled, twisting her blades in her palms to better defend against Winter's rapier.
"You cannot expect an enemy to fight fairly," Winter shrugged nonchalantly as she continued her offensive. "If you should blame anyone, blame your partner."
Mauve pursed her lips and bounced back on her foot. She surged forwards in a burst of speed and used her growing momentum to push Winter back. The lynx girl had a distinct advantage in that she wielded two blades, which significantly increased her chances of landing a strike. Mauve knew from their first training session that Winter kept a second, smaller rapier hidden in the hilt of her first. The officer had yet to reveal the second weapon, perhaps believing that it was not necessary for victory.
That's what Mauve was banking on - a risky gamble... but one she had to take. The moment Winter revealed her second blade the fight would change drastically; Mauve needed to build up her advantage before that happened.
The two women continued to exchange blow after blow; they moved so fast that their arms were indecipherable blurs in the air.
Winter was surprised when Mauve leapt back from where she was standing, causing the taller woman to lurch forwards. Mauve did not take the chance to strike, instead running backwards to gain more distance.
Channeling her electrokinesis semblance, Mauve stood still and waited for the electricity to surge through her muscles. Her weapons became imbued with an electric charge, with small bolts of electricity arcing between the metal of the twin blades. Small tendrils of electricity crackled off Mauve's skin and clothes; which would make grabbing her a dangerous maneuver.
Winter cracked a very small smile. "Miss Tempesta, do you intend to raise the stakes of this sparring match?"
"What do you think?" Mauve huffed, her body still crackling with electricity. "The first to get hit loses… fair?"
Winter gave Mauve a small nod. With a flourish she swiped her blade through the air. As soon as the action was completed a complicated looking white glyph appeared behind the officer. Mauve's eyes bulged in shock when an endless stream of small white nevermores emerged from the glyph.
Mauve raised her electrified blades and got to work. The first eight nevermores were quickly rendered to pieces by her weaponry. The lynx girl moved with incredible speed, slicing apart the small birds and watching as they scattered into fragments of white light.
But the stream showed no sign of stopping… they just kept coming…
Mauve narrowed her eyes in frustration as she sliced apart her thirty-fifth nevermore. She knew what Winter's tactic was. The officer was trying to overwhelm her with enemies and weaken her resolve.
This couldn't be allowed to continue…
Mauve shot back her left hand and shoved Nimbus into the port of her charging pack. Keeping the nevermores at bay with Static, Mauve swept her left hand down to snatch her arcing gun off the back of her hips. She held the long, tube-shaped cannon in her left hand and pointed the conducting barrel at the encroaching stream of nevermore. With a hiss the weapon activated, sending a massive bolt of electricity into the oncoming flock.
The small white nevermores Winter had summoned dropped like flies. Mauve's bolt of electricity arced between the several dozen creatures, frying the entire flock and destabilizing Winter's white glyph. The Atlesian officer jumped back to avoid Mauve's high voltage attack.
Now Mauve had an opening… and she wasn't going to waste it…
Mauve tucked her arcing gun back onto her hip and drew Nimbus from it's sheath again. The lynx girl charged forwards with unmatched speed, rapidly closing the distance between herself and Winter.
The white-haired officer barely managed to raise her rapier to block Mauve's flurry of electrically charged strikes. Winter winced a little whenever she blocked Mauve's weapons, but the wrapped hilt of her rapier protected her from the worst of the electric charge.
Mauve heard air whooshing behind her and quickly whipped her head around to spot the disturbance. Winter had summoned a large ursa - also glowing bright white like the nevermores before it.
A war on two fronts… clever…
Mauve turned her body so she could address the two threats at the same time. While she was capable of blocking Winter's strikes, the ursa was a completely different story. Mauve hissed in exhaustion as she simultaneously parried Winter's rapier, while also sidestepping to avoid the smashing strike of the ursas heavy paw.
Mauve lashed out a kick to force Winter away and turned her attention to the grimm the officer had summoned. The monster stood up on its hind legs to smash Mauve- granting the huntress in training an opportunity. She sprung upwards and dug her blades into the monster's glowing ethereal flesh.. Using Static and Nimbus as anchor points Mauve ran up the length of the ursa and kicked off its head.
The lynx girl transformed her blades into pistols as she sailed through the air. Her first shot was directed at the ursa she had kicked off of- she neatly inserted a bullet into its skull, dispelling the "dead" creature. Mauve then turned her attention to the woman… below her…
Wait… where was Winter?
Mauve gasped when a high-heeled boot slammed into the side of her ribcage- just underneath her armpit. Her aura flared up to protect her as she slammed roughly into the ground, scattering her weapons and equipment.
"Fuck," Mauve groaned as she slowly rose back into a standing position. "Dammit…"
"Language please," Winter chided as she sheathed her rapier. "Do you concede?"
Mauve sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel frustration bubbling up inside her chest - an unpleasant feeling.
She had failed again after all… failure wasn't something she could tolerate anymore. Mauve made a plan to return to the training room at some point during the night, when her teammates were sleeping and weren't aware.
"I concede," Mauve got up and began retrieving her weapons. "You got me…"
"I did," Winter pursed her lips and nodded. "It was an excellent spar, your bladework is unparalleled…"
"Thanks," Mauve wrinkled her nose. "Any tips?"
Winter frowned and tapped her chin in thought. "You would be wise to keep your distance. My plan to defeat you hinged on splitting your attention for long enough."
"Funny," Mauve straightened herself. "My plan was to try and beat you before you pull your second rapier out."
"I have never revealed my second rapier in any of our duels," Winter cocked her head.
"That's what frustrates me, I know that you're holding back."
"In time, I'm sure that I will have no choice but to use all of my skills," Winter complimented. "But for now… I recommend that you exercise more caution in battle. Take your partner, for example-"
Winter turned to where Asher was sitting, but the boy was gone. The space was empty and all of his weapons were missing as well.
"Hello?" Winter blinked in confusion.
"He's listening," Mauve waved her hand and rolled her eyes. "You can keep going…"
Winter wrinkled her nose. "Your partner relies on keeping a safe distance between himself and his target… perhaps you should implement that into your own fighting style?"
"I'm working on it," Mauve patted her prototype arcing gun. "I'll take it into consideration…"
"That is all I ask of you," Winter bowed slightly. "I must leave, I have other business to attend to."
"Sure," Mauve nodded. "Thank you, Specialist Schnee."
Winter nodded again and wordlessly left the room, her heels gently clicking.
Mauve waited for a few moments, mostly to make sure that the room was indeed empty.
"Okay, Asher," Mauve huffed and spun in place to look at her surroundings. "I know what you're going to try…"
The room around her was deathly silent.
"Just know, that it won't wo-"
"Surprise!" Asher howled as he re-materialised. He had ambushed her from the side, intending to catch Mauve off-guard.
Mauve snorted in disappointment and allowed him to wrap her arms around her waist. With a sudden motion she tilted forwards to break his grasp and rolled over his shoulders. Mauve looped her hands around his neck, slamming him back-first into the ground and holding him in a light chokehold.
After a moment's hesitation, Asher tapped out. Mauve released her grip on his throat but pushed him down onto his back. The lynx girl swept out her leg and straddled him, placing a leg on either side of his body and planting her hips on his.
With a small smile gracing her lips Mauve curled her fingers under the seals of Asher's helmet. She tugged off the headgear and let it roll away, revealing his handsome face and messy hair.
"You..." Mauve traced his cheek with her finger, "just can't get the drop on me…"
"I will admit that you have great reaction time," Asher grinned. The small fuzzy patch of hair on his upper lip shifted as his mouth moved. "I don't know how you do it…"
Mauve wordlessly bent down and kissed the tip of his nose.
"You have a meeting with the good Doctor tomorrow… right?" Mauve asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"That's the plan," Asher nodded. "I think Fern's getting bored though… I don't really have anything new to tell him…"
"You've made some progress with your semblance," Mauve countered.
"Fair enough," Asher shifted on the ground. "I guess that's something…"
Mauve absentmindedly reached out a finger to toy with the peach fuzz on Asher's upper lip.
"Asher…"
"Yeah?"
"I think you should just shave," Mauve observed her partner with half-lidded eyes. "It's just not growing…"
"What?" Asher gave her a puppy-dog look. "I thought that you liked facial hair?"
"I think that you would look nice with a full moustache or beard," Mauve explained. "But the peach fuzz just looks bad… you should just shave it…"
"I think it just needs more time," Asher wiggled his nose to manipulate his upper lip.
"How about I give you a different reason?" Mauve raised an eyebrow. She leaned down so that her mouth was right next to his ear. "I don't like how it feels…"
"How it feels?" Asher lifted an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Really," Mauve whispered in affirmation. "And if you ever want to kiss me again… you'll go shave it off…"
Mauve arched her back to look down on her partner, giving him a coy smile.
"I-" Asher stuttered, his face turning a little bit red. "I think I'll shave off my 'stache…"
"Good," Mauve straightened her back and got off of Asher. "And don't ever call it that again…"
Later...
After a shower and a change of clothes Mauve left the dorm room to run her errands for the evening.
The lynx girl quietly navigated the sterile hallways of Atlas academy; she squeezed around the occasional rabble of uniformed students or patrolling guards.
Slung casually over her shoulder was the charging pack she kept her blades sheathed in. Her prototype arcing gun was held loosely in her right hand, held by its long barrel rather than the grip.
Her destination was the workshops, where she knew Professor Polendina could be found. The old man had built Mauve's arcing gun for her - even if it was just a prototype - and had kindly offered to build a final version. Mauve had taken Winter's suggestion to heart, she needed a better ranged option.
Granted, her knives could transform into pistols. But simultaneously firing two guns while trying to maintain accuracy was a difficult affair. Mauve was ambidextrous and could handle two weapons with relative ease, but splitting her aim was hard - especially in the middle of a hectic battle.
Mauve reached her destination, the security door that led into Polendina's workshop. She tucked her arcing gun under her armpit for safe-keeping and raised her hand to press the buzzer.
"State your name and business," the intercom crackled.
"Mauve Tempesta," Mauve answered into the mic. "I'm here to see Professor Polendina… I have an appointment."
The intercom was silent for a brief moment.
"Okay, come on in."
The door clicked and slid open, allowing Mauve entry. The inside of the labs wasn't all that different from how Mauve remembered it. It was a cavernous room filled to the brim with complicated looking machines. Technicians and laboratory personnel rushed around in a blur of motion, each set on completing their tasks for the day.
Mauve stumbled her way through the crowds. She was extra careful to not bump her equipment against anyone or anything; Mauve had faith in Polendina's craftsmanship but one could never be too careful.
Only once she reached the middle of the room did Mauve realize that she was lost. She had never actually navigated Polendina's lab before, the most she had ever seen was the entrance. The lynx girl scanned the area with her amber eyes, looking past the room's other occupants and trying to make heads or tails of the different divisions.
"Problem, Tempesta?"
Mauve spun around in surprise and found a pair of mossy green eyes staring back at her. Liz Verdigris had shucked off her usual mechanics jumpsuit; she was now dressed in more professional looking clothes and a white lab coat.
"Hey Liz," Mauve greeted the shorter girl. "Working?"
"Hardly…" Liz smirked. "What brings you here? Equipment trouble?"
"Not exactly," Mauve shook her head. She raised up her arcing gun to emphasize her reason for coming. "I was going to speak with Polendina about the final version for this thing..."
"And you're lost?" Liz nodded in understanding. "I can bring you to him."
"You sure? If you're busy I don't want to interrupt you-"
"Oh hush," Liz waved her hand and spun on her heel. "Follow me. Polendina is probably in his office right now."
Mauve wordlessly followed behind her fellow faunus. Liz led her through several bustling corridors until they reached an unassuming looking metal door. Raising her small hand and placing it against the door's control panel, Liz squeezed a button to activate the buzzer.
Directly above the buzzer sat a small black camera lense. Mauve watched as the small lens began to articulate, the artificial eye twisting in Mauve and Liz's direction.
'Who's there?' Crackled a familiar voice out of a small speaker.
"Guess who…" Liz replied, raising her eyebrows. "Can't you see me through the camera, boss?"
"No… there's too much interference…" Polendina's voice crackled through the speaker. "Perhaps the lens is out of alignment, yet another thing that needs fixing around here…"
"I can take a peek at it if you want," Liz offered. "But I'm here with Mauve Tempesta, she wanted to speak with you."
"Right, right… come inside then."
With a hiss, the two halves of the metal door slid open.
"Thanks," Mauve smiled at Liz as she stepped into the room.
"No problem," Liz responded. She moved to follow Mauve into the room, the door closing automatically behind them.
Professor Polendina's personal office was not nearly as grand as Mauve was expecting. It was a cramped, dark little space with a small desk and just enough room for the man to maneuver around.
Did Mauve mention the stacks of paper? Because there were massive, heaping stacks of papers littered everywhere - from diagnostic reports to raw blueprints.
"Hello Mauve," Polendina's kind face just barely rose above his messy desk. "Come to see me about the prototype, have you?"
"Hey Boss, hate to interrupt…" Liz gently maneuvered around Mauve. "Sorry… I won't keep you guys waiting. I'm just here to deliver a report."
The lizard faunus extracted a neatly folded piece of paper from her coat pocket and gently handed it over to Polendina.
"It's about… you know…"
"Yes," Polendina's eyes twinkled and a small smile crawled up the edges of his lips. "Thank you very much, Liz."
The green haired girl waved to her boss and gave another wave to Mauve as well. She paused before making her way to the door, a look of confusion coming over her face.
"Hey, Mauve?"
"What's up?"
"Why do you have your charging pack with you?"
"Huh?" Mauve looked to her shoulder and remembered the device hanging off her arm. "Oh! I was wondering if I could have it looked over for damage… technically speaking it's kind of a prototype too…"
"I could do it for you," Liz offered.
"You sure?" Mauve tilted her head. "I don't want to make more work for you…"
"Oh, it's fine," Liz reassured her as she reached out to grab the pack.
Mauve's charging pack was a relatively new piece of equipment - courtesy of Polendina.
The charging pack bore some resemblance to a backpack. It was made of interlocking segments of white and silver metal and angular in appearance. At the top of the pack were two wide slits where Mauve could store Nimbus and Static outside of battle. When sheathed, the blades were continuously charged by the pack's internal dust generator, which lightened the load on Mauve's semblance considerably. The charging pack was equipped with two shoulder straps and a central buckle so it wouldn't come loose in battle.
"Y'know," Mauve mumbled as Liz slid the pack onto her back for easy transport. "I just don't know how you do it…"
"Do what?" Liz cocked her head.
"School, an apprenticeship, a boyfriend…" Mauve trailed off. "When do you sleep?"
"Sleep?" Liz snorted, her face lighting up in amusement. It took a moment for Mauve to register that Polendina was also laughing at Mauve's statement.
"Did you hear her, Boss?" Liz laughed loudly and gestured to Polendina. "Sleep!"
The lizard-faunus walked out of the room, laughing and sputtering in amusement as she left.
"Sleep!" Polendina chuckled and rubbed his eyes. The sounds of metal clanking rang throughout the room as he maneuvered his mech around the desk. "Very funny!"
"I wasn't making a joke," Mauve muttered and looked away awkwardly.
"Ah, nevermind that," Polendina spoke gently with a few final huffs of amusement. "Have you come for the final version?"
"Yes," Mauve gently placed her arcing gun in Poldendina's arms. "It's been useful so far… but I had some ideas…" Mauve fished around in the pocket of her pants to extract the list she had drawn up. "Here."
"Let's see," Polendina placed the arcing gun on his desk and accepted Mauve's list. The man quietly adjusted his glasses with his free hand as he read the paper. "Dedicated trigger system, shortened tube… intensity switch?"
Polendina peered up cautiously. "These are tall orders…"
"I have faith in you," Mauve smiled. "And I'm not expecting a rush order or anything, take all the time you need."
Polendina smiled and dismissed her with a wave. "Please… I'll get to work on this first thing."
"Are you sure?"
"Oh, the internal workings aren't particularly complicated," Polendina explained. To Mauve's surprise, the scientist handed the arcing gun back to her. "You can hold onto the prototype."
"Are you sure?"
"It's still a perfectly functional piece of equipment… who knows, you might need it," Polendina answered cryptically. He maneuvered his mech to turn himself around and made his way back towards his desk.
"Really?" Mauve frowned and tilted her head. "I really, really shouldn't be asking this… but are you referring to what you and Ironwood were talking about?"
"Well, I was actually referring to your recent missions in general…" Polendina frowned and tapped his flat cap. "As for what the General and I were talking about… most of it was just budgetary jargon."
"You know what? Nevermind… I never should have asked," Mauve held up her hand and frowned.
"Oh?"
Mauve leaned her head back and sighed. "I already shot down my teammates when they asked me to press you for information… I shouldn't be a hypocrite…"
"Curiosity isn't necessarily a bad thing," Professor Polendina shrugged. "After all, what kind of scientist would I be if I wasn't curious? If you'd like, I could give you a hint about what Ironwood and I were talking about… for your teammates, of course…"
Mauve shut her eyes for a moment. Pushing her lips to the side in thought, the lynx girl gave the briefest of shrugs.
"You're much more curious than you let on."
"I just don't want a repeat of what happened three weeks ago…" Mauve sighed.
"Fair," Polendina leaned back further into the seat of his neck. "I'll say this. My team and I will soon be responsible for a massive undertaking. In most cases Ironwood tends to leave me to my own devices, but he and I see eye to eye on this…"
"What do you mean?"
"A peace offering," Polendina winked. "A gift... for all of Remnant…"
Mauve gave a brief chuckle. "You're certainly good at being cryptic…"
"I doubt that you or your team will be left in the dark for much longer," Polendina waved his hand. "If you want… I could just tell you outright…?"
"In your own words, my team and I will probably not be left in the dark much longer…" Mauve shook her head, tucking her arcing gun underneath her arm. "Goodbye, Professor."
"Goodbye, Mauve."
The lynx girl made for the door, and offering one final wave, closed it gently behind her.