Don't confuse my personality with my attitude.
My personality is who I am.
My attitude depends on who you are.
– Frank Ocean
"Luke!" Tear shouted as the redhead was sent flying back by the queen's sudden attack, but he managed to regain himself mid-air.
Reyna turned her attention back to the ligeress just in time to warn Tear of the oncoming attack from the beast. "Tear, watch out!" The girl was brought her attention back to the enemy, gripping her staff before she shot her hand out and a fonic shield appeared. The queen crashed into it, bouncing back slightly. "Fon Master, please stay behind Tear!"
Signaling Anise to follow her lead, Reyna dashed forward, swerving around Tear's shield while the monster continued to attack it.
The older Guardian sent a shockwave, knowing that it would do little damage, if any. The only purpose was to distract the queen, which it did as the ligeress turned her full attention on Reyna. This allowed Tear to retreat back momentarily and get some distance between the liger queen and the Fon Master. Keeping the queen's attention on her, the Guardian moved and swiveled about as Anise took a few shots at it with Tokunaga. When the queen turned to face Anise, Reyna was about to attack it when Luke made his own offensive strike.
He had jumped in the air, readying to slash into the beast. However, when his sword made contact, it did no damage. Taking notice to her new attacker, the queen raised her forepaws before bringing them down, causing the ground to tremble. Reyna stumbled, Anise clung to Tokunaga, and Luke, having landed wrong, ended up falling back. The queen, seeing the opening, lunged for Luke. Rolling out of the way, the swordsman was on his feet once more.
Anise charged forward, but even her attacks didn't do much. With the beast's attention back on her, the puppeteer pulled back. Reyna dashed forward, gaining the queen's attention for a moment. She took a step back to dodge her claws just as Luke began to attack once more. He got a couple of hits in, but it likely did nothing to faze her.
Reyna was closing in to attack with Luke when the female liger open her mouth. Without so much as a second thought, the Guardian pushed herself forward and tackled Luke to the ground. She pressed herself into him and hissed at him to shut up just as the ligeress shot out lighting from her mouth. It took a second for Luke to understand, but he stopped moving a few moments later.
The hair on the back of Reyna's neck stood on end, even at the monster had finished her attack.
There was a growl and the Guardian realized that the beast was ready to attack them. She tried to think of a plan, even moving would work, but she was frozen and the redhead was likely in the same situation as she. With less than three or four seconds until the queen lunged, Reyna readied herself to take the blunt of the attack when something flicked below the queen.
An attack from below?!
Not that it mattered since she took this second to roll away from the area she had just been. Luke did the same and once they were back on their feet, both of them noticed that the monster had been stunned by whoever's attack that was. Glancing behind her, Reyna saw that Tear had just finished casting a spell. Anise, who was standing halfway between Tear and them, caught Reyna's gaze and the older Guardian nodded her head. Retreating back to where Tear was, she began to cast one of her fonic artes.
"What the hell are we supposed to do? None of our attacks are working!" He gripped his blade, probably not used to enemies this strong or this impossible to take head on.
And to be perfectly honest, she hadn't encountered a monster like this before either. If she had all of her Guardians, this might be considerably easier, but she had to make do with what she had. The problem would be figuring out how to put use of both Tear and Anise as the fonist. Luke and her could provide enough distraction that-
Luke charged ahead, impatient for a reply from the woman. Yelling after him, she following after him. They worked together to keep the queen's attention on them while Anise cast her fonic arte. That, at least, did some kind of damage.
It also made the liger queen very angry.
It was right around then that Reyna felt something strange, turning her head to find the source. However, this was a mistake on her part as a paw came in her direction. Instinct was probably what saved her as her hands went to guard herself. The sheer force sent her flying back, hitting the ground with a slight skid. Someone yelled her name, though she couldn't tell who at this moment. The Guardian took a few moments to regain herself and went to push herself up when she stopped. Luke stood in front of her, his stance ready to take on the liger queen as the beast made its way over to them.
She almost yelled at Luke to get out of the way when it happen.
"Indignation!" a familiar voice rang out and a surge of lighting engulfed the queen.
Reyna ended up shielding her eyes, feeling the intensity of the attack. If she hadn't known who did that fonic arte, she might have been afraid that her and Luke would be caught in the crossfire. However, she had some faith in the man and just as the attack ended, Reyna open her eyes. To her surprise, the queen was still standing, but only barely so. She began to tremble and sway before it finally toppled over to the side with a thud—dead.
She let out a sigh of relief as she pushed herself up into a standing position. Luke, at this point, fell to the ground in exhaustion and Reyna could understand the feeling quiet well. However, she didn't have time to sit around as she walked over to where the Fon Master and Anise were. Tear was making her way over to where Luke was, likely to check in on him. It was just as she was about to reach the two that Reyna finally saw the one who cast the spell and, for once, she was glad to see him.
Jade and Reyna caught each other's gaze before the colonel pushed his glasses up.
She stopped, standing by the Fon Master and Anise, a hand on her hip. "Looks like Colonel Curtiss made it just in time to save us from the queen."
"I didn't do much. You already had the monster nearly beaten when I arrived, didn't you?"
"Your modesty fits you so well."
"That's what everyone tells me."
Reyna rolled her eyes and this was when Anise made the comment. "You alright, Reyna?"
"Yeah." Reyna replied back, checking herself over. "Nothing serious. What about you, Fon Master?"
He smiled. "I'm fine. I'm just sorry I couldn't do much to help."
"Don't worry about that, Ion! I'm just glad you're alright."
Reyna thought about what their next move would be when Luke made a comment. "This left a bad taste in my mouth."
Following his gaze, she saw him staring at the liger's eyes, which were now broken and had goo oozing out of them. While she did feel a bit bad, she didn't feel the need to actually agree him with. It was bad they had to interfere, but they were defending themselves. It happen and there wasn't much they could have done to save the eggs, much less figure out what to do with them if they had.
"You're quite kind...or perhaps soft." Tear replied back.
"And you're a damn cold witch!"
This caused Reyna to raise a brow while Jade expressed amusement. "My, my. Lover's quarrel, perhaps?"
"Shut up!"
"Colonel Curtiss, we do not have that sort of relationship."
Reyna caught Anise's eyes and they both held a smirk on their faces. The Fon Master looked mildly confused, but said nothing. Jade ended up shrugging at both of them retorts. "I was just kidding, but please, call me Jade. My family's name is a bit too formal."
When the boy made his way over to Jade, Reyna and Anise followed. "Jade, I'm really sorry for running off and doing this on my own."
"It's unlike you to do something when you know it's wrong." Reyna rolled her eyes, but thankfully Jade didn't notice. When her gaze went to the Fon Master, she saw that he was standing a little more straight, an indication he was going to make a point.
Which he did.
"Together, with Yulia, the cheagles are the foundation of the Order of Lorelei. I felt that I was responsible for any trouble they have caused."
"So this made you use your powers, even though the doctors had forbade you to?" The boy's eyes widened slightly and he lowered his head, causing Reyna to bristle almost instantly. She knew that Jade was right and she had reprimanded the boy herself, but it reminded her too much of Mohs. Anise took notice of this and though she couldn't do anything, the girl stood a little straighter. Reyna, in turn, tried to calm herself down. Jade was not Mohs. "Moreover, you seemed to have involved civilians as well."
To Reyna's surprise, Luke was the one to defend the boy. "Hey, old man! Give the kid a break, he apologized didn't he?"
From the looks of the others, they seemed just as surprised by what Luke had just said. Jade, however, continued, "Oh. And here I thought you were the type to complain and grumble about being involved. I am a bit surprised." As if they all weren't. "Anyway, I'll stop the lecture at that. We don't have much time."
"The letter arrived, didn't it?"
"While you all were gone, yes."
Could they really talk about this in public, even if that public consisted of just Luke and Tear? Well, there wasn't point in making a deal about it and she was ready to get out of here and get back to the task at hand. Delivering that letter to Kimlasca and getting back to Daath as soon as possible. "Then we should hurry and not waste time sitting around."
Luke, who caught on to her indication, simply glared at her.
"Nooo! We have to report to the elder!" Mieu squeaked at the others, causing Reyna to give her attention to the cheagle as it came floating by Luke's head.
"A cheagle speaking a human language?" Jade asked, seeming puzzled by this.
"It's the power of the Sorcerer's ring." Glancing at Jade, the Fon Mastered asked, "Jade, it wouldn't be too much trouble to stop by the cheagle's home?"
"All right. Please remember though, we don't have much time."
With a heavy sigh, the Guardian was about to follow Luke, Tear, and the Fon Master as they took the lead, but stopped when she noticed that Jade and Anise stayed behind a bit. He spoke to her quietly, but she was able to catch most of it from where she stood. Anise nodded her head eagerly, despite the fact that the girl likely wanted to stay by the Fon Master's side. When they caught her gaze, Anise gave her a smile while Jade gave her a mild shake of of his head.
Anise saluted at them. "Alright, as long as you two keep on eye on Ion, I'll do my super cute best to be back as soon as possible!~"
The trio hurried to catch up with the other and when the path diverged, Anise shot off elsewhere. Jade and Reyna kept to the rear while the others continued on, not noticing Anise's absence as they went on about a cheagle's diet or something silly like that. Reyna paid little attention to it, her mind on their surroundings. Even if they had just defeated the liger queen, there was still danger about.
Even then, the animals in the forest didn't come out much.
Their walk seemed short and before she knew, they had arrived to where all the cheagles were. Which, considering this was her first time here, she found herself looking all around. They were actually kind of cute and Reyna could imagine what most of her Guardians would think if they found themselves here. It almost made her smile as she actually felt herself missing the chaos that came with being their leader...
The cheagle elder and Mieu conversed and, if Reyna dared admit it, it was pretty damn adorable. Tear was blushing, mumbling something about it be so adorable as well, which nearly caused Reyna chuckle at her. The only one that did not look highly amused by the cheagles was Luke. He just looked annoyed for what reason, but Reyna didn't really want to know why either.
"Mieu told me what happened, and it seems you met with great danger on our behalf." The elder cheagle said. "We are grateful that you would keep your promise even after two thousand years."
"Aiding cheagles is part of Yulia's teaching. It's only natural." The Fon Master answered back, a smile on his face.
"Regardless, the origin of this all was the fire Mieu caused in the liger's home." Then, with as much firmness as a small cheagle elder can get, he proclaimed, "I hereby banish Mieu from the cheagle tribe!"
"That's too cruel!" The Fon Master exclaimed while Reyna folded her arms. Mieu looked downcast at this revelation. While she did feel bad for the little guy, he had caused the fire which lead to the ligers moving into this area. It was a punishment he would have to endure if he was to take responsibility.
"Of course, I don't mean forever."Mieu immediately perked back up. "If I am to understand correctly, Mieu owes Master Luke his life. We cheagles do not forget our debt. Henceforth, Mieu will serve serve Master Luke for one cycle of the seasons."
"What?!" Luke groaned, shaking his head. "I'm not involved in this!"
Mieu retrieved the Sorcerer's Ring back from the elder and came floating towards Luke. "I'll do my best, Master!"
Luke went on about how stupid this was and he refused to take the young cheagle along. It took some convincing, but the redhead finally agreed to let Mieu come along as a pet or something. With that settled, they could finally leave this forest. The group said their goodbyes and left the huge tree the cheagles occupied and set course for the entrance. There was some more talking among the group, especially with Mieu around as he seemed the general one to ask questions.
It was almost off-putting, how easygoing this group was becoming. The Fon Master was smiling, something he didn't see too often. At least, not a smile like the one he had now. It was different, almost like he was enjoying himself. She thought back to his life in Daath and realized, besides Anise, he didn't have too many friends. Reyna didn't count herself seeing as most of her time was spent with the Guardians. Even when they did spend time together, it was business for all of it.
"Ion! Reyna!" Anise brought her back as she came running toward them, a grin on her face. Stopping in front of them, offering a salute to Reyna, she added, "Welcome back!"
"Anise, where is the Tartarus?" Jade asked, giving his attention to her.
"In front of the forest, just like you asked. You said to hurry, so we came as fast as we could." At least they wouldn't have to walk to wherever the Tartarus had been previously.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard, along with some clinking armor.
Reyna tensed for half a second before relaxing when she saw they were simply Malkuth soldiers. They emerged in numbers from the forest all around them. It was about this time that Reyna noticed the looks on Tear and Luke's face. They moved back, Luke's hand going to his sword while Tear's grip on her staff tighten, a grimace on her face.
It was Luke who yelled out angrily. "Hey! What the hell is the meaning of this?!"
"Restrain those two at once. They are the ones who have been emitting Seventh Fonons." commanded Jade, his gaze on the duo.
It was then that the Fon Master pleaded with the colonel. "Jade, please don't do anything to hurt them."
Jade waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry. We don't kill them." Before he added in a mockingly sinister voice, "...Assuming they don't resist. Now be good kids. Take them away."
With swords pointed at them, the couple didn't have much of a choice. Reyna paid no mind to them now that they were all heading to the land dreadnaught. She needed to tend to her wounds and see if her uniform was still intact. Afterwards, she would check in with Anise and the Fon Master.
Though, from the look on his face, the boy was worried about his newfound friends as their hands were being cuffed behind them. She sighed while Anise managed to distract him long enough that they moved forward.
.
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.
The Guardian found the conversation going on to be quite boring. Don't get her wrong, she never thought Luke and Tear were in trouble with Malkuth, but she didn't really quite understand why Jade needed to explain hyperresonance in full. It was sort of interesting to hear how the two before them had crossed the border illegally. Being two seventh fonist made that possible but…
She did explain to Jade earlier that Tear was from the Order and Anise confirmed that she might possibly be with one of the intelligence divisions, though she wasn't sure which one. Luke, she had an idea but didn't say so to Jade since she wanted to be wrong.
The conversation might have gone more smoothly if Luke wasn't….Luke.
"Man, you're obnoxious."
Anise giggled, her tone light and teasing. "He called you obnoxious."
Jade, on his part, feigned a hurt expression. "I'm terribly insulted. But moving along, I know Tear is an Oracle Knight. With that being said, Luke, what is your full name?"
"Luke fon Fabre." His reply came quick and it was curt, his eyes never leaving Jade's. Reyna's eyebrows shot up for a moment, surprised before her expression returned back to neutral. If that were true, then what about Van? He had gone to train the Fabre boy, hadn't he? "The Luke you guys tried to kidnap."
While Anise and the Fon Master appeared taken back by his words, Jade was unconcerned by the accusation. Reyna's mind went elsewhere as the colonel continued on with the conversation. "The son of Duke Crimson Herzog Fabre who married into the royal family?"
"A Duuuuke?" Reyna heard Anise mumble to herself. "That means..."
Rolling her eyes, the woman paid no mind to the younger Guardian as she continued to mumble to herself.
"Why are you in Malkuth? And what is this about a kidnapping? It doesn't sound very pleasant."
"I could see why they would bring him back though." Reyna said, mostly to herself, but Luke had heard her anyway. He did have an ear for that sort of thing.
The conversation went back to Luke and Tear defending themselves, saying it was merely an accident, which the Fon Master went along with. He said that he believed they were telling the truth and that he didn't feel any hostility from Luke, which sounded like bull to Reyna.
Well, she supposed Kimlasca wouldn't send the Duke's son into enemy territory to invade, but still. The fiery red-haired boy seemed to have quite the temper. With Jade making banter at him, Luke was pouting when the Fon Master suggested that they ask for their assistance.
To show they were serious about asking for their help, both were released from their handcuffs. Luke and Tear rubbed their wrists, Tear looking at least a little relieved about being free while Luke just glared at Jade. "Nice way to treat innocent people when you need to ask for their help."
Jade ignored that little detail and went on. "We're heading towards the kingdom of Kimlasca under the orders of Emperor Peony the Ninth of the Malkuth Empire."
"Don't tell me...to declare war?" Tear said, her eyebrows raised.
Luke jumped up at that, looking back between Tear and Jade. "To declare war?! A war is gonna start soon?"
"You've got it backwards Luke, we're going to prevent war from happening." Anise informed Luke, smiling at him. It was kind of creepy in a way but whatever.
"To prevent war? Is it that bad? The relations between Kimlasca and Malkuth, I mean."
"It's surprising that you don't know." Reyna said with a sigh, because really this was kind of silly. Who didn't know? Was he that sheltered? If Reyna really cared, she might have ask how much Luke didn't know about the outside world.
Maybe he was just as dumb as he acted.
Jade decided to keep going, so Luke didn't say anything to Reyna's comment. "If we leave things as they are, a large-scale war is likely to happen. It has been fifteen years since the Hod war has ended and now, localized skirmishes occur frequently." Jade said, his face still in the same neutral expression.
The Fon Master nodded his head. "That is why His Majesty decided to send a letter to Kimlasca in order to conclude a peace treaty. He requested that I come along as a neutral ambassador to make sure things proceed smoothly."
"If that's true, then why are you rumored missing?" Luke asked, causing Reyna to frown at the new. How far was Mohs really willing to go, she wondered. If these rumors of him missing or being kidnapped got bad enough, it would hinder them. "Master Van left to look for you."
Oh?
"That's because I escaped Mohs' custody with the help of the Malkuth military." The Fon Master replied back without so much as missing a beat.
Tear looked taken back by this and opened her mouth slightly to say something, but nothing came out while Luke went on with his questions. "Who's this Mohs' character?"
Reyna decided to take it upon herself to explain the man she so terribly hated. "Grand Maestro Mohs is head of the faction that opposes the Fon Master. As of right now, the Order of Lorelei is divided among those who support the Fon Master faction and those who support of the Grand Maestro faction, which is centered around Mohs." Reyna noted how Tear's eyes started to narrow as she explained the different factions that had developed within the Order. Reyna's gaze never left the girl, who eyes almost too similar to Van's.
"Grand Maestro Mohs wishes for war to start." The Fon Master concluded after Reyna. That much was obvious.
Tear instantly reacted, jumping to her feet and her hands hit the table in between the two parties. "Fon Master Ion! There must be some mistake! Grand Maestro Mohs' only wishes for fulfillment of the Score There is no way he would want such a thing to happen."
Reyna's mood soured just as quick as she nearly openly glared at the female soldier. Tear really had no idea what was going on, did she? How could she even defend the bastard? It simply made her furious that others couldn't see Mohs for what he was and even though Van didn't seem to mind him, anger still coursed through her veins.
Anise placed her elbows on the table, looking at Tear with a pout on her face. "So Tear's on the Grand Maestro's side...that's a real shocker."
"I'm neutral. Yulia's score is important, but so are the Fon Master's wishes." came Tear's curt reply to Anise.
"Yes, because you are so obviously neutral from your earlier outburst." It was childish, but her hatred for Mohs was very deep and though she had been fine with Tear before, now Reyna had started to feel a dislike for her. The girl just didn't get it, did she?
Luckily for them all, Luke seemed to want to move things along. "Hey guys, hello! Do you mind slowing down so I can keep up?"
"My apologies. I had forgotten the young master here hasn't a clue of the world around him." Jade casually said, as if it wasn't any sort of insult.
Which, of course, didn't please Luke at all as he angrily said, "...What did you say?"
"Regardless of the state of the affairs within the Order," the Fon Master intervened timely, "I must deliver this letter to Kimlasca on behalf of Malkuth."
"We are soldiers of an enemy nation. Even as emissaries of peace, it won't be easy to cross the border. If we delay, the Grand Maestro faction will catch up and interfere. That's why we need your help...or rather we just need your social status."
Luke rolled his eyes at the Malkuthian colonel before leaning back in his seat. "Oh jeez, thanks Gramps. Is that all I'm good for? And didn't anyone ever teach you to bow your head in respect when asking someone for a favor?"
"Don't act like that Luke." scolded Tear, frowning at the redhead. "You don't want a war either, do you?"
"Would you shut up already?" Luke snapped before his eyes went back to Jade. "Well?"
Jade let out a heavy sigh before walking to the side near Luke. In one quick and fluent movement, he was on one knee. One of the soldiers called out to him, while the other one in the room looked shocked. Reyna herself felt the same, staring at Jade like he had gone a little bit crazy. "Master Luke, please grant us your aid."
"Man, do you have any pride?"
His head still bowed, Jade replied back casually, "None so cheap as to be shaken by such petty things."
"...Tch. Fine, whatever. You just need me to talk to my Uncle, right?"
Jade stood, smiling and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You have my deepest gratitude, Master Luke. Now, by your leave, I must return to my work. You can make yourself at home, Master Luke."
Luke waved his hand dismissively. "Drop the 'Master' title. I'll barf."
"As you wish, Master Luke."Jade didn't wait for a reply but Reyna saw that once he turned to leave, he had a smirk on his face. His soldiers followed him out, which led her to leading the other two out as well. The Fon Master had been winded by the long and serious discussion, asking if they could go get some fresh air. Agreeing, the trio made their way toward one of the balconies that was nearby.
Once they were walking about, Anise let out a small sigh. "That was pretty intense, but did you hear that Luke was a son of a duke?! He's so handsome." Reyna just rolled her eyes at this while the young girl chatted to them about Luke and how she thought he was so cute and how she wanted to get to know him better. Reyna was getting an irritated look on her face, but the boy seem to deal with it better than the Guardian was.
"Anise, why don't you go show Luke around? I'm sure he'd appreciate that." he said, smiling at her.
Her eyes widen before she let out a giggle. "You think so?! Can I go Reyna? Oh please!"
"Yeah, go ahead. Shoo already." Reyna was glad to have rid herself of the girl, and Anise wasted no time as she shot off back to where Luke and Tear were.
When she was out of hearing range, Reyna turned her attention back to the Fon Master. "That was very naughty, Fon Master."
"You sound like Jade." The boy chuckled as she frowned at him, not liking the comparison "Anyway! Let's go get some fresh air."
With a simple nod, Reyna and the Fon Master continued on their way. It didn't take them too long to actually arrive and once they were outside, the boy moved toward the railing. A smile soon appeared as he looked toward the sky, causing Reyna to wonder what he looked so happy about.
"It's just so different from Daath! I guess this whole experience is different from the way I was living before." He explained without having her to ask, his hair swaying in the gentle breeze. Her eyes remained on him for several moments while he continued to talk about this journey thus far.
Reyna didn't really understand why he was getting all worked up about it but then again, she had never thought about what everything was like for someone like him. His life was completely different compared to almost everyone else's on Auldrant...
"Fon Master, we should go back inside-"
"Reyna look! What is that?"
The boy pointed toward the distant sky and she turned her attention to where he was point. She had to squint, straining to get a better look, but from what she could tell, something were making their way toward the Tartarus. It was hard to make out a shape at this distance, but they caused Reyna to tense. Her hand grabbed the Fon Master's shoulder, while he looked nervously at her.
Alarms started going on and Reyna quickly grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him back inside. She didn't stop there
She squinted her eyes, straining to get a better look, but all she could tell that it was some specks making their way toward the Tartarus. Reyna grabbed the Fon Master by the shoulder, her body tensing up while he looked nervously between her and the dark specks that were growing bigger each second. When the alarms started to go off, Reyna wasted no time, grabbing the boy by the hand and dragging him back inside. She didn't stop there, her feet already moving as she tried to think of the safest place she could keep the boy.
Because she was certain that all hell was about to break loose.
AN: As always, I take a bit longer to update than usual. Sorry for the delay and to those who are old readers, please forgive me for making you wait until I have finished rewriting the story. I know you want to know what happens next, but back then, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to happen in the story and just was going along with it each chapter. Now I have a general plot idea, so please bear with me as I rewrite these chapters to indicate where this plot may be heading.
Anyway, I hope you have all had a good day. Please leave a review if you want as I appreciate any and all reviews! Thank you!
Chapter 8: What Makes you Stronger- With the attack on the Tartarus, Reyna is forced to leave Ion in the hands of Anise while she runs off to get the letter. However, she is soon met with adversity as she encounters a familiar face. Forced to take action, Reyna fights her way through to find the others. Then the unexpected happens and soon, the Guardian finds herself alone and struggling to keep moving forward.