Her staycation had come and gone too quickly for her liking as Kyrie prepared for her night at the Seeing Eye. She had managed to get several errands done she'd fallen behind on completed, and was at least entertained by the young Shield. The two of them messaging each other almost continuously. Gladiolus giving the woman plenty of flak for failing to mention to him her week off. Kyrie walked in to work with her nose nearly buried in her phone as she waved to Mouse, the Bouncer more than intrigued to see her so distracted. Kyrie's entrances were usually very professional as she walked in with her hands completely free, ready for work.

"Oh really?" Mouse said as he pretended to reach for Kyrie's phone "Let's see whose got little Carmen's attention."

Kyrie quickly moved her arm away as she finished her text, using her free arm to push Mouse away, "It's a secret Mouse!" she said no differently than a guilty teenage girl.

Mouse waved her into the Seeing Eye, "Oh SURE. Keep secrets from Mouse now. How'm I ever gonna survive." His response garnering a wink from Kyrie.

Kyrie walked into the back dressing rooms to lock her stuff away, something she had always done. When she found the lockers, she saw Lily. The small woman trying her hardest to disguise the tears that had been falling from her eyes. The make up the small woman had spent so much time applying a small mess as it smudged beneath her eyes. Kyrie sighed. Seeing Lily in a state like this wasn't one she hadn't seen before on countless other women to include herself, who passed through the Seeing Eye. All the promises of high pay for a little skin took its toll on people time and time again. It left individuals with the choice or being morally correct, or more financially liberated. Anyone with even a slight moral compass pointing north would always have a mental dilemma. Even some patrons who came into the establishment treated those who worked within its walls like lesser humans at times. Somehow they seemed to believe they were morally superior despite being just as guilty.

Kyrie walked over to Lily, hugging her from behind, "Little Lily. Why are you crying?"

"Carmen..." the small woman said quietly as she choked back another wave of tears "I hate it here..."

Kyrie smirked as she kissed the woman lightly on the crown of her head, "I know. It's not a place for you. "squeezing the small woman tightly before releasing he, she said "If you have the option to leave, Lily, take it. This world is toxic, and it's a world someone like you isn't cut out for."

Lily looked up at Kyrie as she fixed her own makeup in Lily's mirror, "How do you manage to keep yourself together?"

Kyrie stood upright as she adjusted her brassier, being sure the way the garment held her breasts was the most flattering, "You go numb to it all."

"Must be nice." Lily said as she rubbed her own shoulders.

"Not at all. It's just a part of life. You're in the land of Gods and monsters, Lily. You only get to pick one side to be on, and you can't pray away your issues. I'll say it again. If you can leave, do it. You'll never be able to otherwise." Kyrie watched as for a moment, Lily shuffled through her purse. The all too familiar sound of rattling pills and small plastic bags standing out loudly to Kyrie. It was an all too common thing in the world they were in.

The lights within the building darkened as the Madam loudly stated "Two minutes to opening ladies." Kyrie inspected herself in the full sized mirror. The slight buzz of her phone in her locker catching her attention just before she walked out to the stage. Another message from Gladiolus. Kyrie rolled her eyes and smiled at her phone. The man was certainly determined to maintain her attention.

G. Amicitia: So when we gonna grab some breakfast again?

K: Good question. How about dinner instead?

G. Amicitia: That works for me. Tonight work for you?

K: :( no I work tonight. I have a dance to do tonight. How about this weekend?

G. Amicitia: Works for me...

K: What's with the'...'?

G. Amicitia: Thinking.

K: That must be really hard for you since you had to include dots.

G. Amicitia: You have no idea. I get to judge this routine, right? Gotta do a quality check after all.

K: WOW. Really? Fine. I'll let you judge. That means dinner at my place than.

G. Amicitia: Fine by me ;)

K: Be warned. I make the best cup noodle you've ever had.

G. Amicitia: Actually I do. See you this weekend.

Kyrie laughed as she put her phone away, the music starting up immediately and signaling the shift to begin.


Kyrie leaned heavily against the guardrails in the subway. She didn't mind dancing the poles, but she was always left a bit more physically drained than she'd like. The money wasn't near as good as when she did private dances and it called for her to be so much more physically involved. She placed her head heavily against the cold steel pole. The inanimate object somehow comforting to her. Her guard was down as she rode back into the heart of Insomnia, wanting nothing more than to bathe and crawl into bed. A boisterous group of men stepped into the subway at the final stop before it traveled into the downtown area. Kyrie tuned them out as she usually did.

Her quiet ride home was interrupted by the group. Their ranting and raving beginning to annoy the woman. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed that all of them were dressed in uniform. All Kingsglaive headed in the same direction as her. Given that she had plenty of dealings with the Glaives as clients, she kept her head down, hiding her face in hopes that none of them would notice her if they had ever been one of her clients. As the group continued their conversation, they suddenly grew quiet as they spoke. The group appeared to be scheming if Kyrie didn't know any better. She placed her hand in her coat pocket, unlocking the cap of the pepper spray. She held tightly to it, maintaining her careless disposition as she stood more upright, preparing for the worst. She listened as carefully as she could to the conversation, trying to pinpoint keywords. The only words she was able to decipher, were "allegiance", "home", and "soon". Kyrie let her eyes wander to the group of men, unintentionally making eye contact with one of the glaives.

"What about you? How do you stand?" the glaive asked her.

"I'm sorry?" she responded, the question catching her off guard.

"You aren't a Lucian. Where do you stand." The glaive asked again, standing from his seat in the subway.

Kyrie smiled softly as hair exited her nose, "At the moment, I stand with my head against a pole waiting to get home."

The small group of Kingsglaive were divided. Some smiling at her response, others sneering. The Glaive that had risen from his seat looked back at the group. Annoyance clearly beginning to rise along with his temper, "Another smart ass response from a Lucian sympathizer. Where ever the fuck it is you came from, I'm sure their disgusted at your lack of loyalty." The Glaive looked her up once over before his brow furrowed further, "You aren't a Glaive like the rest of the refugees, so what the hell are you?"

The man walked around Kyrie, circling her as a means to try and intimidate her. The smell of alcohol greeting her nose as the man passed. Kyrie clutched the pepper spray in her pocket tightly as she readied herself to spray the man. The moment she felt the man's hand graze the collar of her jacket, she quickly pulled the small tin out, the action failing entirely as the man grabbed her hand and disabled her arm. In the blink of an eye she had been spun around and slammed into the ground. A sudden wave of shocking began the course through the woman as she lay pinned to the ground. The action causing the other glaives in the group to stand up quickly. "Dude, c'mon. Knock it off." another member of the group stated loudly. The Glaive that now had Kyrie pinned to the ground pressing his knee heavily into Kyrie's back as he kept her hand pinned down to the ground, "This is the bullshit I'm talking about. We're refugees and we're being used by a fucked up king as fodder for his stupid war. He's got us turned against each other. We are disposable soldiers to him. In HER case, she's a disposable whore." The Glaive pressed his weight heavily into her back as he leaned in and whispered "…get on the right side of the war…" The Glaive rose quickly, being sure his knee was heavily planted into her spine as he got up. The doors of the subway opened and the group of Glaives left. Their stop being only a few blocks from their headquarters. Kyrie stayed and the ground for a moment longer. The pain in her arm and back feeling exaggerated by the residual pain of being shocked.

When the doors to the subway shut, she braced against a seat as she rose up from the ground. Her jacket disheveled and hair even more unorganized than it already was after her shift. She had every option to call the authorities as it were and have the Glaive arrested. Every citizen did. But she already knew that given her career, she'd likely be another ignored statistic. Tears welled in her eyes at what had happened. She wasn't sure if they were from pain, emotional overload, or simply anger. She was no fool to what the Glaive had said. Many of the refugees within Lucis felt no differently than used and abused trash. The truth behind that was just the opposite, but when hearth and home is lost, it ruins the clarity many people would carry. As her subway came to her stop, she straightened up her posture and walked home as though nothing had ever happened.

When Kyrie finally entered her home, she quickly drew a hot bath. She wouldn't be able to avoid any marks and bruises on her left by her encounter in the subway, but she could at least soak herself for a while and wash the stress away. The large claw foot tub she sat in having more than enough ample space for her to fully submerge herself. She sank heavily under the water, holding herself under for a moment as the weight of gravity lifted off of her. Her thoughts tracking between past clients, her talk with Lily, the assault in the subway, and finally, her quiet brunch date with the young Shield. Her final thought making her sit up from her submerged state. Odd she thought to herself as she moved a few of the short strands of her natural hair out of her face. She sank back down into the tub. Her nose barely above the water, and for a moment, she wondered what life would be like if she had been able to become something beyond what she was. A life filled with normal monotony where her clothes could stay on, and for a brief moment, she even thought about what it would be like if she just quit altogether and try. Her funds were in order and she would be more than able to live without work for a few months. As she began to make a plan to quit, a looming thought crept into her mind. One that always snuck into the minds of any person attempting things beyond their own ordinary: fear. What if she couldn't do it? What if her past is too haunting? As fear of change clutched tightly to her thoughts, she sank back under the water again.


Gladiolus let a half smirk cross his face as he sat in the gym. The promise of a weekend date was always satisfying for the man. He never had issues picking up whatever women he'd so chosen to, generally choosing to date higher in society. He was no stranger to having the odd diplomat's daughter or model warming his bed for no defined period of time. Even if his place in society was high, he could never find himself settling down in that manner. The "Number 1 Lucian Bachelor" was a title he touted alongside being known as a high class womanizer. Even so, the young Shield never thought twice about names handed to him.

Given the hour, the gym was starting to become busier. The Shield had the option to use the facilities at the Crownsguard headquarters, but instead opted to use the more common gym open to civilians. The way he saw it, if he was going to be forced into the position of a Shield for the people, he would interact with them whenever the opportunity presented itself. He may not be able to train in combat with them, but he could at least work out amongst them. The biggest issues he ever ran into, revolved around the odd obsessed fan girl or reporter in disguise attempting to question the man. Gladiolus would maintain professional as possible, but would still make it very clear that he was in no mood to deal with such people as he would continue to work out and ignore any and all advances.

As usual, the young Shield began his set on the bench press. His spotter being somewhat of a friend that worked within the gyn. They began their repetitions as the spotter began counting. After only a few reps, the spotter paused, "Hey. Yo um…SHE'S here." The smaller man said as he looked down at Gladiolus.

"So?" the young Shield grunted out "Ignore her." he responded as he continued to do repetitions, knowing that it was his ex that was being spoken about.

"Dude, she's coming over." the spotter said with a bit more urgency.

Gladiolus sighed, "Go figure."

The young Shield put the bar bell back in its placed as he sat up from the bench press, wiping his hands on a rag he had on him. He grabbed his phone from the ground and checked to see if Kyrie had responded at all, knowing that she likely had already begun her shift and he wouldn't hear from her at all. The sharp sound of heels on the gym floor making the sound of his ex walking closer far more agitating than it should have been. His ex planted a smile over her face. She had her own reputation to uphold within society as a local model. She represented her company with every bit of grace that is to be expected. She waved at a few patrons who seemed to recognize her instantly. Gladiolus watched her, eyes fixed in agitation. His face completely void of any real emotion as she walked over and straddled the bench he sat on, playfully leaning forward to give him a kiss on the lips. The young Shield having enough sense to turn slightly, landing her advances on rough stubble that had begun to emerge on his face.

"Don't make a scene Gladdy." the woman stated as she grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckle.

"Could say the same to you." Gladiolus responded as he stood up and moved away from the bench press.

"You're really going to take things this far?" his ex responded "It wasn't even a big deal." the woman continued.

Gladiolus wiped the sweat from his neck as he gathered up his belongings, waving to the gym employees, "Pretty sure fucking one of your colleagues is a big deal and going after my best friend is too."

The woman paused in her steps before she continued walking. The looks of a few gym patrons suddenly giving her embarrassing her, "I didn't try to do that Gladdy. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Pretty hard to misunderstand your texts to him. And the photos of you getting dicked down? They were pretty clear." Gladiolus stated as he made his way to his car.

The woman turned red in the face from embarrassment and anger, "Well maybe if you were around more often I wouldn't have to do things like that. Did you ever stop and think about that? You're not so perfect yourself asshole. How many bitches have you been flirting with non-stop since who the fuck knows?! And you sent me pictures of one of them. Really? You're pretending to move on." she screamed.

Gladiolus sat heavily in his car, "I'm not getting into this with you, AGAIN. Take a hint and leave. Waste someone else's time." as Gladiolus prepared to leave, he paused for a moment "And to answer your question about women I flirt with. It's all of them. Because fuck you." The young Shield sped out of the parking lot with his temper boiling over.


The weekend couldn't come in fast enough. Kyrie had taken the day off, having promised Gladiolus a dinner date. She tidied up her flat, being sure to put away most anything that she had set up that showed her career in any way. Even if the young Shield knew about what it was that she did, it didn't necessarily mean she wanted it flaunted about. It had been a long time since any person she knew outside of her own career had been to her home. Those in her field found most parts of her home regular. From the scandalous art, to the pole that sat in her bedroom. Even the numerous amount of mirrors made sense to them. But to someone living a normal life? She couldn't help but wonder what fresh hell she was inviting the Shield into. She laughed at the ideal of who exactly it was coming to her home and how it was she even got mixed up with the man at all. She checked her bedroom one final time. Although she wasn't sure if Gladiolus actually wanted her to perform for him or not, she still made sure the area was ready for it, just in case. She wasn't dressed for it in any way. The light denim pants she wore riddled with holes and her cropped halter top hardly supportive at all, but she was certain she could make it work. She turned on her mp3 player as the music soon began to resonate in her home softly.

Before she even had a chance to check the clock, she heard a gentle buzzing from the intercom in her home.

"Who is it?" she said softly.

"Pretty sure you already know." Gladiolus responded. The man using the wall to support his weight.

Kyrie smiled, "Nooo. I don't think I do." she said playfully.

Gladiolus smirked, "Ouch. I think I almost felt that." he responded as the buzzer opened up the doors.

Kyrie shuffled around her home for a minute as Gladiolus made his way towards her flat. She was slightly nervous. A feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Before she had a chance to calm her nerves, she heard the gentle tapping at her door. Okay Kyrie. It's just another guy. Sure he's the future King's Shield and you almost slept with his dad, but he's just an ordinary guy. As she talked herself down and failed to calm herself at all. She opened the door and smiled. The young Shield nodding his head as he smirked at her.

"That's a great *song playing." Gladiolus said as he smiled down at her and stepped in.

"It is, isn't it?" Kyrie respond as she and Gladiolus exchanged a light hug. The large man handing her a single protea. The subtle pinks exaggerating the reds on the flower. "Thank you! It's beautiful. I have to ask, where did you find it?" Kyrie asked.

"That's a secret." Gladiolus responded as he watched Kyrie carefully place the bulb in a small vase. He turned his attention to the parts of her home that he could see. Immediately noticing the large shelving full of plants. The man made a mental note of that as he looked around. Much of her furnishings were of heavy Lucian influence, and some pieces were things he would expect to see in his own home or the home of natives. He was no fool and knew Kyrie was not from his country. His eyes continued to wander, eventually finding several pieces of canvassed art. Each more sultry and seductive than the last. A scantily clad woman being the focus of each piece, as a single bright red object in each picture drew one's focus.

"Are you hungry at all?" Kyrie said as she stood next to Gladiolus, noticing that he was looking around.

"Nah not at the moment." he stated as he pointed to the pictures on her wall "You I assume?" he said teasingly

Kyrie looked at the pictures, "Gods I wish." She grabbed her behind and stated "I would do just about anything to have a nice ass like that."

Gladiolus leaned back slightly to look at her back as Kyrie chuckled at him, "Seems pretty good to me."

Kyrie lightly swatted him, "That wasn't a clue to look GLADDY."

Gladiolus sneered as she said that. The man truly unable to enjoy his name being butchered in such a way, "I take it back. It's like looking at deflated pancakes. Such a disappointment." the man stated in a joking manner, his arms crossing over his chest.

Kyrie waggled her finger at him, "Awfully dangerous to insult the cook for the night, isn't it?"

"I'll take my chances."


*Alan Walker- Lily*