Kyrie sat still in the office as she waited to be formerly questioned and interviewed. What she thought would be a simple walk-in to help Gladiolus as the man requested, turned out to be a far more formal event than she anticipated. She had already filled out a background check which came back completely clean, as she had anticipated. What am I getting myself into she thought to herself as she rocked her foot. Soon, Gladiolus as well as a formally dressed official showed up into the office. Gladiolus had obviously been training prior to the interrogation judging by the man's damp hair as well as undone shirt. Kyrie averted her eyes from the distraction and put her soul focus on the woman who was soon to be interviewing her. The official gave her very clear and precise instruction as to what exactly was going to occur during their interview, all of which she was prepared for..
"Alright ma'am. Let's start with your legal first and last name." the official stated.
Kyrie nodded, "My legal first and last name in the kingdom of Lucis, is Kyrie Veritas."
"Ms. Veritas, what is your current occupation?"
"I'm an exotic dancer at the Seeing Eye, as well as a part time escort." She responded bluntly. The official seeming slightly shocked to hear her response. The official looked at Gladiolus. The young Shield seeming un-phased by Kyrie's response.
"Are you native to the region?" the official then asked. Kyrie paused, thinking carefully about her answer. "Ms. Veritas?"
"No." she responded, her eyes soon meeting Gladiolus'. The woman knowing what question was to come next.
"Where is it that you are from?" Gladiolus asked, suddenly cutting of the official mid speak. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Kyrie had avoided the conversation entirely once before.
"Vogliupe. Well, technically a small village outside of Vogliupe."
The official shifted in her seat as he looked at Gladiolus, unsure of exactly where the location was. The young Shield's relaxed demeanor suddenly carried a tense air as he stared at Kyrie. Gladiolus whispered to the official, the woman soon bowing and exiting the room silently. When the door shut securely, Gladiolus turned and stared at Kyrie. His gaze almost void of any emotion as he watched her, "You're a Niff". Kyrie didn't flinch for even a moment. She was used to glares and stares of all sorts. His was no different. Gladiolus soon dipped his head. Rubbing his eyes before he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. His shoulders dropping as he sat himself heavily in one of the office chairs, "Fuck." was the only phrase that escaped his lips as he rubbed his hands on his face. "How long you been in Insomnia?" Gladiolus asked.
"At least 12 years now." Kyrie stated, "I'm surprised you know where Vogliupe is."
Gladiolus nodded as he leaned back, "Hard not to know the map of the country you're at war with."
"Does that make things a bit more difficult for you?" Kyrie asked as she walked and stood behind Gladiolus, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Nah. Just makes for a shit load of more paperwork on my end. Gotta prove your loyalties, allegiances, background info, double check security clearances…all shit I don't wanna do right now." the man complained as he looked up at the ceiling "…the whole point was to have someone else here who could do paperwork for me. Can't ever be too easy though. Can it? Least I have someone who can help with that. Less drama." he stated as he quickly texted someone.
Kyrie shook her head, "No. Never." she gently bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead, egging a smile from the man.
"You do know I still gotta do things by the books, right? Regardless of what THIS is. I'm not allowed to show that kinda favoritism." Gladiolus stated as he gestured at the both of them.
Kyrie raised her eyebrow at him, soon resting her face on his shoulder, "I wasn't aware THIS was anything at all. Just thought we were having fun."
Gladiolus shrugged, "Doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be." Even if her response was a bit blunt, in a way, the man was a little bit relieved to hear that she was a bit taken back at the premise of being in any sort of exclusive relationships with anyone. All it confirmed for him, was that he wouldn't have any sort of tie downs to rein him back if he so chose not to be.
Kyrie stood upright quickly and immediately sat herself on the large man's lap, "IF it were a thing, it would definitely be getting in the way of my work outside of here."
"You're gonna keep working there?" Gladiolus asked curiously. He was almost certain that the prospects of more steady and favorable work could pull her out of that world.
Kyrie nodded, almost surprised that he would even have to ask, "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Gladiolus shrugged, "Figured you'd leave it and work here."
"Gladiolus..." Kyrie said with a slightly faked laugh "If this is your way of trying to 'help me' or 'save me', I don't need it."
"Yeah...caught me. What would it for you to leave?" he asked.
"A full-time daddy." she laughed out, letting her finger drag over the large scar that covered his eye, straddling over his lap all the while "Know of any takers?"
The door to the office opened a little faster than expected making both Gladiolus and Kyrie jump in their places. Kyrie unable to move off of the man fast enough as another figure walked into the office and shut the door slowly, "Ah. I assume I'm interrupting something." the man said as he adjusted his glasses.
"Got good timing Iggy. Need your help with this one." Gladiolus said to the Advisor as he rubbed Kyrie's knees softly.
"And what, exactly, would a man in your current position need help with Gladio? It would appear you have things fully under control." Ignis responded. His eyes rolling as he shook his head at his closest friend.
The young Shield gently gestured that he was attempting to stand up, and Kyrie quickly moved off, "I need to get a full check on Kyrie 'Veritas'. She isn't native to the kingdom. Figured you'd be the best person to run through."
Ignis gave Kyrie the once over, "Could you not tell she was foreign to this land? Surely even you wouldn't be so blind to that." Ignis stated, his expression still and reserved as though carved from marble. Emotionless, but still very human. "Where exactly does a one Ms. Veritas come from?"
"Just outside of Vogliupe." Kyrie responded, her hands seeming to find company in one another as they held each other with a hint of nervousness. The imposing glare that came from Ignis was both cold and yet somehow warm all at the same time. The man's very aura oozing of wisdom. There was something strangely familiar, yet wildly different about all of the man's mannerisms to include his speech. She knew the accent in which he spoke. She just couldn't remember where she'd heard it or even when she'd last heard it.
"Ah... another from Niflheim territory. One can only imagine what you endured before finding yourself here. With all said, Gladio, her files should be simple enough." Ignis stated. His blue eyes seeming to show a hint of sympathy for her as he almost appeared to relax his posture.
"Thanks Iggy." Gladiolus said, nodding his head at his friend.
"Of course. Though, IF Ms. Veritas is to be working within the workings of the Citadel, she'll need to have at least some semblance of training. Should I arrange for something within the Guard or the Glaive?" Ignis asked, making Gladiolus shake his head.
Gladiolus turned to Kyrie, facing her straight on as he thought for a moment, "Kyrie, you ever had anything odd happen during times of high stress?"
Kyrie shook her head. "Odd? What? Like magical? To date, nothing that I am aware of. Why should I have?"
Gladiolus shook his head, "I don't think the Glaive will be the place for her. Doubt she's able to even use the king's magic in anyway. She'll just have to train with the guard a bit."
"Very well. Should I inform Cor of her arrival than, or-"
Before Ignis was able to finish his sentence, he was interrupted, "Nah. I'll just deal with her myself. Shouldn't be too hard. If I can train his royal highness, some stripper off the street shouldn't be too hard." Gladiolus said, winking towards Kyrie. The woman's face turning slightly as he had a small conversation with Ignis.
Kyrie couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was she was now getting herself into. So far as she was concerned, her arrangements with Gladiolus was going to be nothing more than a simple pencil pusher here and there for work the man slacked off on. She had no idea she would be forced into any sort of formal training at all with anyone. She didn't oppose the idea of having some idea of combative training, she just wasn't prepared to have everything dropped on her so quickly. Even if she didn't want to, she may not have any choice but to leave the Seeing Eye. She was soon pulled out of her thoughts when Ignis spoke up.
"Right then. I shall take my leave. Ms. Veritas, I look forward to working with you, hopefully soon. I dare say that despite Gladio's disposition, he is surely an idiot with all things regarding paperwork and all things formality based, and your help shall be more than welcome." Ignis said as he bowed out of the room.
Kyrie nodded and bowed as Ignis exited to room. Both her and Gladiolus stood in silence for a moment before she spoke up, "So...he is very interesting."
"Iggy? Yeah. He's definitely different." Gladiolus responded as he shuffled through some paperwork on his desk.
"He certainly is. Where is he from? His accent is thick." Kyrie said as she shuffled in place, trying not to seem overly nosey.
Gladiolus was unphased by her question as he responded, "Tenebrae. You and him might have more in common then you think."
Kyrie's eyes widened briefly, "Tenebrae? I didn't think anyone escaped from there since-"
"Long story Kyrie. Really long. Not my place to talk about it. But he isn't as likely to pass judgement on you being from Niff territory because of where he is from."
Kyrie nodded quietly, thinking of what sort of scenario could bring someone from Tenebrae to Insomnia before she went back to thinking about the job she was now taking on, "So...do I actually have to come in and train?" Her question had a flirtatious hint to it as she used a bit of charm to try and get out of having to do more work than she'd signed up for.
Gladiolus laughed, "Hell yeah. You'll be training with me. Shoulda told you sooner, but no one just works in the Citadel. Everyone has to be able to defend the King first, the people second, and themselves last. So you'll need to at least have some of the basics down."
Kyrie sighed as she pulled the gun out of her bag, waving it carelessly. With no training on how to even handle the small pistol in her hand, her lax and irresponsible handling of the weapon was a shock to Gladiolus, "I have this. Is that not en-"
Gladiolus quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled the weapon from her hand, releasing the magazine and tossing the weapon to his desk. His expression hardened to stone, "I don't know who the hell taught you how to handle a weapon, but that sure as hell isn't it. You can kill someone else or yourself doing what you just did. Who trained you?"
"No one. It was just required by work to pick one up. I've never even fired the thing before." Kyrie responded, taking her hand back as Gladiolus released his grip.
"Yeah well, that's getting fixed starting now, and as much as I don't care for the guy, I know just the guy to help you out with that. Follow me." Gladiolus said as he handed the weapon back to Kyrie and opened the door. The pair soon walking out of the office and down the hall.
Kyrie followed Gladiolus in relative proximity. Her eyes still astonished at all the details that covered the walls of the Citadel. There truly wasn't a single speck of dust to be found anywhere. The main halls were packed to the brim with a variety of people, all of which seemed busy in their own right with countless numbers of documents or with their ears and mouths busy on their phones. They soon left he main halls of the Citadel and after a short walk through a glass corridor, they found themselves in a training hall. The contrast between the main halls of the Citadel and the training halls was astonishing. A room once adorned with blacks and golds, to white with thin accents of gold. It was far brighter as the pillars climbed to the ceiling. Kyrie stopped to look at a painting that sat on one of the walls, distracted by the details of it. "Hey. Keep up." Gladiolus said. Snapping her out of her moment of pause. Kyrie quickly followed again as Gladiolus opened a very heavy door. The hinges of which barely made a noise when he did so.
The room they entered was fully concrete and cold. The walls covered with thick layers of soundproofing. Suddenly, a quick succession of shots fired, startling Kyrie who quickly latched on to Gladiolus. The young Shield laughed internally when she did. "I'm gonna assume you've never actually heard gunshots before." he said, giving her a reassuring pat on the back, gently pulling her to his side in an attempt to get her to relax.
Kyrie shook her head, "No. Never so close at least. I wasn't expecting it."
"Figured as much. That's why you're going to fire that little pistol now. HEY. BLONDIE" Gladiolus shouted. His booming voice echoing down the concrete corridor. At the end, a wild haired blonde man poked his head from around his semi private barricade, waving happily as he came bounding towards the pair.
"Hey hey! What's up Gladio. Can't believe you came down to the range. Finally giving up your big butcher knife?" the young, blonde man said jokingly "And who is this?" he then asked as he looked at Kyrie. The man's eyes full of life as he seemed to have boundless energy. Unable to stand still for hardly a moment.
"This is Kyrie Veritas. She's never fired a gun in her life. Need you to get some range time in with her, Prompto." Gladiolus stated, pressing her towards the younger man.
"Nice to meet you Kyrie. Can't believe you've never fired a gun. Do you own one?" Prompto asked cheerfully. The blonde man lacking any sort of judgement towards Kyrie as he smiled happily at her.
"I do actually." Kyrie reached back into her bag and pulled out the small pistol, handing it over to Prompto. The manner in which she did made the man's happy expression suddenly extremely nervous as he quickly sucked in what little gut he had and put his arms up and side stepped to move out of Kyrie's way. Even Gladiolus backed away and watched his stance.
"ERR HOLY CRAP. Yeah. Yeah you need some training." Prompto said nervously laughing as he gently reached for the gun. Kyrie handed it over to the blonde man. Prompto inspected the small pistol and smiled "At least you got a good little Saturday night special!" he said, quickly cocking and firing the pistol down the range, seeming to hit the target almost perfectly in the center "I'll teach you what I know, starting with how NOT to kill everyone trying to show people your piece." he laughed out.
"I'm gonna leave you two to it then. Kyrie, I'll grab you here in a couple of hours. Prompto, watch yourself." Gladiolus said, giving the smaller man a sort of glare.
"Whaa who me? 'Smatter big guy? Worried about something?" Prompto said jokingly. The sharpe glance Gladiolus gave him snapping Prompto out of it "Right! C'mon. Kyrie. Let's get to work."
