Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat
Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)
Well, this was supposed to include the actual wedding. Somehow things just didn't get that far. But, they will!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.
Adrian stood at parade rest in the living room of the Grayhawk home waiting for everyone to sort themselves out so he could get married under Atlantic Federation law. It was a wonderful irony, one he fully intended to enjoy. Kayla was somewhere else, out of his sight in accordance with some superstition against the groom seeing the bride before the ceremony was ready to start.
The table had been taken out of the dining room and chairs set up in the opened space. The blank-faced Reverend Spotted Horse stood stiffly beside a small table pushed up against the wall. Adrian knew the man was furious but it hardly mattered. He was behaving himself, nothing else counted.
Howard had met the Reverend Jerome at the door. Whatever they discussed wiped the oily smile off the man's face. Janet got to him just as soon as he'd hung his coat up. He came out of that talk with a cold frown and a small packet he immediately put in his pocket. His oldest sister and Charlie Yellow Dog nailed him next. By the time the three way chat ended he was white with rage but his jaw had been clenched shut. Then and only then had Adrian walked up to him. The sight of a ZAFT soldier in full, formal dress reds had bleached what little color the man had left.
Their conversation had been short and brutal. Adrian hadn't given him time to call him names before he'd invoked the magic of the Hasslehoff name. It bought him the silence he'd expected it to. He'd stated his terms and left it at that, knowing the man had no trust in his word of honor at all. But he also knew that the man was aware that there was the rest of the Grayhawk family to consider so there might be some truth to a 'space monster's pledge' this time.
Adrian just let him stew. There was nothing more he could do. Any more action here would tip things the wrong way now.
"Ya shouldn't stare at the garbage. It'll only make it stink faster."
Adrian turned to find Charlie Yellow Dog had managed to come up on him with out being noticed. What was it with these shaman and medicine women that they could do this to him? They were making him nervous, damn it!
"This garbage stank long before it got here." He replied irritably.
"Ya got a point there." Charlie conceded. "Now, ya wanna bend down here a bit? I got yer warrior's gear for ya."
"Excuse me? What warrior's gear? I have my uniform, that's all I need."
Charlie gave him a look that should have splintered the wall behind him. Adrian was unmoved. He was a soldier of the ZAFT. He was wearing his own uniform, freshly cleaned for him by Janet Grayhawk and the boots polished to a brilliant gloss by his own hand, and nothing else. He turned away.
The ancient woman standing behind him was transparent, stooped through the shoulders, and far taller than he was. She leaned on her magnificently carved stick and eyed him reproachfully. Adrian could feel his eyes widening.
"Grandmother of Bears?" He whispered.
She nodded.
"Yes, Ma'am!" He almost saluted her.
Amusement flashed in her very old eyes. She smiled. As she did, she faded from his sight. He slowly turned back to the waiting shaman, more than a little stunned.
"Ya done arguing?"
"Yes." Adrian admitted unhappily. "What is this 'gear' you want me to put on?"
"Bend down here." The much shorter old man ordered imperiously.
He obeyed. Charlie lifted a heavy necklace off the seat of a nearby chair and put it over his head. He stayed quite still as the old man arranged it across his shoulders. Only when he was satisfied did Adrian stand up again. Even then, Charlie tweaked the way it was laying on the breast of the red uniform several times before he was content with the look.
He couldn't see it as well as he would have liked to looking down on it, but it definitely was a weighty piece of work! Three rows of silver beads the size of local pennies connected a set of five stylized flowers to either side of the necklace. The flowers had large, nearly flawless sky blue turquoise stones set at the points where the lines of beads met them. A massive, three-quarters circle made of a base of three bands of silver set with even more of these amazing stones hung from the center. It was a magnificent work of art. It looked impossibly out of place on the front of a ZAFT uniform.
"Well, that works better 'an I thought it would. The blue and silver shows right nice against that red and black. Here, hold this end of the belt."
Adrian found a massive piece of worked metal shoved into his hand. He grabbed it just before it could slip away to the floor. He wanted to protest that he had a belt on already but he didn't bother. It obviously didn't matter to Charlie as he swung an appallingly heavy piece of metalwork around his waist.
The old man took the heavy piece out of his hand and fastened it with a soft click. Adrian looked down again. He lifted his knee a bit to let him see past the necklace to the free hanging end pieces. It seemed he was wearing a set of heavily decorated silver plaques lavishly set with yet more of that fine turquoise. The individual, highly decorated plaques were about the length of his hand and about half that wide. They were connected to each other with chased work pieces shaped like squashed figure eights. The belt must have been made for someone of considerably greater mass as five of those ovals hung down the front of his tunic's skirt. He couldn't be sure from this top view but they might reach all the way to the point at the bottom of the center front.
"We got lucky. It fits over yer uniform belt snug enough to stay up and not so tight that it's pinchin' anythin'. That's good boy 'cause ya got no hips and no ass to hold it up other wise."
"Is that supposed to be some kind of compliment?"
"Nah, just a observation. Stick an arm out here an' lets see how the bracelets fit."
"Over or under my sleeves?"
"Gonna hafta be over or they won't show, now will they, eh? Now, gimme an arm will ya?"
With a silent sigh, Adrian obeyed again. The bracelet proved to be yet another massive piece of silverwork, heavily set with thumbnail sized cabochons of the same turquoise as the necklace and the belt. It too had a heavily worked background. But there was also considerable open space in the patterns as well, letting the black of the deep cuff show through and display the piece itself to near perfection.
Charlie carefully worked the open backed bracelet over the cuff, somewhat crushing it under the metalwork. Adrian mentally cringed but kept his mouth shut. The uniform wouldn't be permanently damaged after all. When the old man was done, he was wearing a matched set that rode from just above his wrists to half way to his elbows and weighted his hands down to his sides.
"Are we done?" Adrian asked hesitantly.
"Only if the ring don't fit." He held up a circular monster that would cover a finger from first knuckle to the tendon dimple in the back of the hand and the finger to either side as well. A dozen of the now familiar turquoise surrounded a larger central stone. Unlike any of the other pieces, this one had no other decoration than the set stones themselves.
"Goes on the right hand." The old man added helpfully.
Captain Ito gave the shaman a very dirty look. Charlie just grinned at him. Adrian realized this old goat, Kayla's description of his grandfather applied even better to this antique annoyance, was having a wonderful time driving him up a wall. Unfortunately, the goat was the one in charge at the moment. Promising himself he'd get even somehow, he took the ring and tried it on. It was a bit loose once over the knuckle but it wasn't going to fall off. He was obviously going to be stuck wearing this too.
The old man stepped back and looked him over. One silver eyebrow rose as Adrian stood at something very close to attention in front of him. Then he nodded in slow approval.
"It looks real strange over that uniform of yers boy but once ya get past that damn if it don't suit ya. I thought Golden Eagle was crazy when he picked out all these pieces for ya back when Kayla stopped at my place. I should know by now that the Spirits don't make that kinda mistake." He waved toward the hall. "There's good light an' a full mirror out there. Ya just go an' have a look-see for yerself."
Curious, Adrian took him up on that. The mirror in question was mounted on the wall opposite the front door. Kayla had told him her great-great-grandmother had put it up so she could be sure she looked her best on her way to county board meetings. Whatever the reason, it was handy now.
He marched almost to the door before he turned to look. He wanted to be sure he could really get the full effect of this, . . . this, this costume hung over his uniform. He needed to know immediately if this was going to be a disaster. Charlie's opinion was biased and cared nothing for the dignity or honor of the ZAFT; he couldn't trust it. He paused, took one deep breath, and turned around.
He stared at the reflected image, his eyes slowly widening. This should have been ridiculous. The heavily gemmed and decorated jewelry should have come off as a joke.
Instead, it came off as armor, a warrior's armor. He had been transformed into a soldier of two cultures – and two vastly different times. Antiquity overlaid the space age, and the effect was literally stunning.
"There have always been warriors." Golden Eagle said thoughtfully. "There are those who cry out against warriors. Yet those peoples who have cast their warriors aside have been swept aside themselves. One wonders at the folly of never learning from this unchanging experience."
He paused, then added, "Warriors also come in many guises. The greatest of heart are those who stand to protect. Such do not begin wars but they do finish them. You and Soaring Hawk Woman are such warriors. It is fitting you should be seen for what you are on your mating day."
Adrian's head had snapped around to find the transparent form of the nearly two meter bird standing at his right hand. The beak opened in unmistakable avian laughter.
"Did you think I would not come to such an important event in your life? What kind of Spirit Guide would I be if I should not attend your mating?"
"It's called a wedding, not a mating!"
"Ah, is this so?" The amusement in the Spirit's eye was almost frightening; he'd never imagined they had a sense of humor. "Perhaps this is because the eaglets are already coming?"
"Could you laugh at me some other time? I'm just a bit wound up right now." He hissed.
The fierce golden eyes were suddenly sober. "You are not standing alone. Nor will you travel alone when you leave this house. You have made friends on this world Eagle's Heart, more than you know. And not all of them were made on this trip. There will be aid in places none could be expected. The honor of the Thoms Team is known further than you might dream. But that is for tomorrow. For today, the shaman has one more thing for you. Accept it with what grace you can muster for it was made by many with love and care. If you take it as it was made, it will be powerful indeed."
He blinked in surprise. And in the instant of darkness during that blink, Golden Eagle vanished because he wasn't there when Adrian opened his eyes again. He blinked several more times but it didn't bring him back to explain anything.
"Visitor?" Charlie's voice came drily.
"Yes!" Adrian snapped.
"Lemme guess, ya got handed advice and information that only half makes sense an' the damn bugger vanished on ya afore ya could ask a single question."
The frustrated and rather over-wound pilot just glared at the placid old man. "Of course! Isn't that what your stories say they always do? I don't know why your heroes didn't smack them flat."
"Ya ever tried hittin' somethin' that ain't really there? Spinnin' yerself like a top is about all yer gonna accomplish. Well, that an' givin' 'em a good laugh. Ya wanna entertain the Spirit World, be my guest. But yer gonna be late to yer own wedding if ya do."
Adrian gave him a sharp look. "Sometimes I wonder about you."
"Do ya now." The old man clearly wasn't troubled by the thought.
"Yes, among other things, the occasional variations in your diction are fascinating."
Charlie declined the bait, simply grinning toothlessly at him instead. But there was a wickedly sharp look in his eyes that told Adrian they would continue this conversation at some future date. What was this strange old fossil? He had very casual and imprecise diction most of the time but every now and again he'd pronounce a word or phrase with the clarity of a university professor.
"Ya can analyze me later. I got the last thing for yer weddin' finery ta get tacked on ya."
"I'm not a horse. I do not wear tack."
"Ya ain't no bird neither but yer gonna be wearin feathers. Now get over here an' sit down!"
He almost said no. But that last comment of Golden Eagle's, about accepting something that had been made with love stopped him. Instead he went and sat as directed. Charlie came up on his right hand carrying a neat packet wrapped in white tissue.
"This is a charm." The shaman told him, a flatly serious note in his voice. "I ain't gonna tell ya who made each piece but I will say they've all met ya and they all liked ya enough to put out a real effort to help make sure ya make it home. I'm gonna braid this into yer hair and ya'll leave it there 'till yer back in yer Plants, ya hear?"
He looked gravely at the packet. "Tell me, Charlie, is this aid being offered to Voril and Yuri too? Because I can't accept it if they aren't also considered worth defending. It would mean it was only about protecting the guy their girl was irrationally attached to. That those other strangers weren't worth it. I won't take this if it means that."
"Yer still stuck in the war; still seein' everythin' in Coordinators against Naturals." He said reprovingly. "That ain't what this is for. It's for you, the boy they've come to like. An' yes, just so's ya don't pop a cork, there's one each for the others too. But they weren't made just to keep things even. They were made because those kids are also valued, have become friends worth defending. They were made because the people called Adrian Ito, Voril Joule, and Yuri Lubbek are recognized as just that, people."
Adrian looked down, suddenly ashamed. "I'm sorry. That was very rude and I shouldn't have said it."
"Like I said, yer still somewhat stuck in the war. Yer gonna be a bit deprogramin'. Nobody goes through something as vicious and intense as this little war was an' comes out all smilin' and well adjusted the instant its over. Truth be told, the three of ya are amazingly stable given all ya been through. But then, the three of ya are damn decent people an' believe it or not, that helps. Ya just got ta remember to give it that half second of thought before ya let yer mouth open for a while yet until the worst of the war damage heals."
As he finished speaking, Charlie flipped the tissue packet open. Adrian eyed what lay there with somewhat doubtful curiosity. There were five red/brown/bronze feathers, the colors looked natural, all just a bit longer than his index finger and all tightly formed like miniature flight primaries. Each shaft was covered in a different tubular pattern of tiny beads. The tube sections had two short bead hangers that attached the feather to a length much heavier, highly decorative beads. The five were set to hang at slightly different lengths. Taken as a piece of art, it was actually rather beautiful. Taken as something he was going to have tied to his hair until he got home, that was something else.
"A charm? For what?" He asked slowly.
"Try 'protection'." Charlie offered the obvious wearily.
Protection, eh? Well, Eagle had said if he accepted it as it was offered it would be powerful. There was a time not many weeks ago when he'd have laughed at that idea. But then, he'd have laughed at the idea of the Spirits then too. He stared at the 'charm'. If he could accept something as impossible as two meter tall eagles that he could see through AND that could talk to him, what was the hold-up with a feather charm made by friends to help him?
"Please tell everyone who made these thank you for me. I will be, well, honestly somewhat embarrassed to wear it because we just don't do things like this in the Plants, but I will be honored too that I have Natural friends on Earth who would do this for me."
The ancient shaman's dark eyes studied him. "Ya know Ito, the word 'boy' isn't gonna describe ya much longer. It ain't really adequate anymore now."
"Thank you sir."
Adrian sat like a stone as the shaman braided the protective talisman into his hair, making sure it fell just in front of his right ear. When he was done, Adrian went back to the hall to take a look at the final effect. Rather to his surprise, the feather piece somehow completed the whole. The ZAFT uniform provided a solid base for the antique jewelry. The feathers on the right and the lack on the left of his face balanced the dichotomy of the uniform and jewelry below. The sum total was harmonious in a way he'd never expected. And he remained unmistakably a soldier of two cultures and times.
"Yep, she snatched herself a real good one when she decided ya were the boy she wanted." Charlie said quietly. "An' ya did right good by yerself too when ya had the sense not to let her get away."
"It wasn't possible to 'let her get away.' It would have destroyed me in a week to have tried it."
"Well then, I guess yer ready as yer ever gonna be. Lets go, Howard just waved from the dining room. Looks like all they need now is the bride and groom."
Adrian turned, suddenly utterly calm. He marched across the room unhurriedly. It was the right time, he was ready.
Kayla sat on her bed in her bathrobe and grimly watched every other female in the house, except her oldest sister, paw through her closet and drawers trying to find something that could be substituted for a wedding dress. What they were finding out was something she'd discovered a month ago; she'd outgrown most of the things she'd left behind when she'd enlisted and she was just that much too pregnant to fit in her uniforms. The barely sixteen year-old who'd gone off to war had been a skinny, rangy thing. The soldier who came home at almost eighteen was nearly three inches taller, had filled out and put on a decided amount of muscle. Even if she hadn't been expecting, very little that had been stored here would have fit. And all of that was already sealed up in boxes ready to ship to Aube; a small fact she had no intention of mentioning as she didn't want to have to pack them all over again when everyone finally decided there was nothing suitable in them either.
"I take it the hunt is turning up no prey." Maria muttered in her ear as she leaned against the tall footboard of the bed.
"Zero, zip, nada." Kayla agreed irritably.
"Do you have anything you'd like to wear?"
She sighed. "Actually, since I know Adrian will insist on wearing his uniform, I'd actually like to wear mine. The symbolism would be both proper and balanced that way. Trouble is, it doesn't fit."
"Interesting option." Her sister said approvingly. "You're growing up, Kayla, in a lot of ways. Wasn't all that long ago when you might have made the same choice but the reasons wouldn't have had a thing to do with balance or understanding that symbolism matters at moments like this. You two are really too young to be starting a family, teen parents have a terrible record both for staying together themselves and for raising mentally and physically healthy kids. But I think the pair of you may beat the odds. You're neither one of you spoiled brats or personally arrogant or power hungry or any of a dozen other negative things that would doom such a 'opposites attracting' marriage. You do care deeply about each other, about these children you have coming, and about the peace that's being hammered out between our peoples. And you respect each other's people. Yes, I do think you'll be a real exception to the rule."
"Thanks." She said quietly. "I'm betting everything I have and am on this Maria. If we fail, I have no place to go. The Plants won't want me to stay there and there won't be any safe place to come back to down here. Sometimes, when I think about it too hard, I really get cold chills."
"Kayla, look at me." The General said firmly.
She turned and met the bronze eyes in puzzlement. "What?"
"You will have a place." General Grayhawk told her in a voice that brooked no doubt. "Under Plant law, as the mother of Coordinator children, you can not be denied residence there or the right to see them unless you are convicted of one of a set of specific crimes, most of them things we'd take the kids away for down here. So if by some shocking fluke, the pair of you do split, you will be entitled to stay where your children are. Moreover, Adrian will be obliged to help you get set up in a situation where you can earn a living and have a place to live. They don't seem to have alimony up there, they seem to feel any Coordinator worthy of the name should be able to support his or her self, but they do grasp that the non-working partner in a marriage gone south will need help to get started. So do not let that worry you."
She eyed Maria carefully. "This straight data or are you being 'encouraging' again?"
"No, it's straight data." The General replied immediately.
She sat back, suddenly almost weightless. Wow, had she really been that scared about something so unlikely? From the nearly giddy feeling in her head, yeah, she had. Huh, guess you never knew what was really digging into you until it stopped! She let herself float happily on the euphoria, insulated for the moment from the rising frustration of her mother and other sisters at not finding anything suitable in her wardrobe.
All good things end though and this lasted less time than most. The bubble of relief held up maybe five minutes before her mother slammed the last dresser drawer shut with a sharp bang. The loud noise, and the anger behind it, popped the bubble and brought her back down into the real world with a hard mental thump.
"This is impossible!" Janet Grayhawk snarled. "There has to be something presentable in this house my daughter can wear to get married in!"
She turned to the others in the room. "Mother, you and I will tackle the attic. Crystal, I want you and Alys to go through that monstrosity you call a room and see what you might have that could possibly do. You're just that bit more, uhm, lushly built. I know some of your things will fit Kayla even now."
"You mean I have a full figure and Kayla isn't quite up to that standard maybe?" Crystal asked dangerously.
"She means shut up and go look." Gran Spotted Horse said even more dangerously. "We are all on a deadline here. I don't have time to smooth over problems caused by verbal errors. Just be cooperative for this once."
"Maria," The formidable old woman turned to her namesake grandchild. "I want you to stay with Kayla and keep the boys out. If there is going to be any food after this ceremony, I have to get down to the kitchen right now. Since everybody else knows what they're supposed to be doing, I suggest they get to it!"
"Crystal, I want you . . ." Janet began.
"The girl knows what you want, Janet." First Kay cut her off. "Now come, you want my help in the attic, you stop wasting time on useless instructions and lets go."
The old woman nearly towed her daughter out of the room. Crystal and Alys hurried after them when Gran snorted at them both for lingering. Gran was the last one out. She firmly closed the door behind her, making it clear to everyone who heard it shut that no one was welcome to open it without permission.
"Oh great! I can't wait to see what kind of horror Crystal hauls out of the bowels of her closet or memento of Sandy Mom and First Kay find in the attic!"
"You and Crystal share nothing in taste in clothes." Maria agreed calmly. "And I honestly don't think you will be happy in anything of Sandy's, not to wear while marrying a ZAFT officer anyhow."
"What does that leave us?"
"My collection." Maria replied as she headed for the closet. "Do you remember how to open the 'secret door' between your closet and mine from this side?"
"Your collection?" Kayla asked as she followed her sister. "Your collection of what?"
"Uniforms." Maria answered shortly.
"Huh?"
"The door?"
"Oh, yeah, push on the third knot from the left in the middle of the biggest board."
Maria followed the instruction and a rather narrow panel swung inward. She reached in and turned on the lights in her closet, a much larger space than the one they were standing in. The pair of them slipped through the doorway and Maria shut it behind them.
Kayla looked around her. Boxes were stacked neatly on the shelves, dozens of them. Four uniforms and about five feet of civilian clothing hung near the front of the ample room. Field boots, office shoes, dress shoes and civilian shoes ranging from riding boots to dance slippers were lined up neatly below the clothing. There was nothing else in the closet besides a rolling stepladder.
"What in the world do you have in here?" Kayla asked, eyeing the cryptic label on a nearby box in confusion.
"All my civvies that I don't have any immediate use for and my uniform collection." Maria replied. "And before you ask, I've been picking up uniforms, ours and ZAFT's that have turned up on bases after the fighting. I only take ones in perfect condition that don't have a readily identifiable owner. Uniforms change over time. These are going to be historic records someday. But at the moment, one of them just might do as a substitute for a wedding dress."
"What, you got an EA Air Wing Captain's uniform for a pregnant woman? They make those?"
Maria, half way up the rolling stepladder, turned and stared down at her with a very disgusted look. "No, stupid, I have one that should be a standard petite in a size that would normally be half larger than you would wear. But because it's a petite it's cut differently from a regular woman's style and because it's half size up, it should fit. Now plug in your brain before you open your mouth will you?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say."
"Brides, brain-fried, every last one of 'em." Maria muttered loud enough to be clearly heard as she pulled a box out of the neat stacks.
"I can hear you, you do know that right?"
"You are supposed to. You are supposed to get irritated enough to start thinking again. Or at least that is my fond hope. What is it about weddings that short-circuits even the smartest women's minds?"
"Call it cultural operant conditioning and let it go at that." Kayla advised. "You aren't gonna get anywhere grousing about it."
"I suppose not." The General agreed wearily as she climbed down off the ladder with the box in hand. "Come on, let's see if I've guessed right."
"Just what kind of uniform did you have in mind?" Kayla asked as she followed her sister into her militarily tidy bedroom.
"Full dress of course. Nothing else will do with Ito wearing his dress reds." She shook her head. "He was an idiot to bring those down here. I understand the motivation of course but that doesn't make the decision to actually do it anything but stupid. And those two fool friends of his are no brighter either. If anyone had actually looked in their baggage, they'd be dead by now and they wouldn't have died easily or without telling our people everything they wanted to know. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And all because Ito has too much 'honor' to lie to his girl's family. Sometimes, honor is a liability one should think seriously about leaving up in the Plants when planning reckless trips to Earth."
"Pop wouldn't have had half the respect for him if he had." Kayla pointed out quietly.
Her sister gave her a very dry look. "Pop is a guy, sis. He'd have been dumb enough to have taken his uniform to the Plants to fetch Mom if the situations had been reversed."
Kayla shrugged. "Ya gotta balance risk against risk. I'll admit Adrian probably wasn't thinking as clearly as normal but I know he had Pop's reactions in mind when he decided to bring it. Guys do guy things Maria. Even I've figured out that isn't gonna change any time soon."
"Point noted." Maria conceded as she opened the box and lifted the uniform inside out to set it on the bed. "It still doesn't improve the intelligence level of the move though. Here, try it on."
She dropped her bathrobe on the bed and took the blouse her sister held out. One touch told her this was not simply a full dress set but one special made for someone with too much influence and a liking for serious luxury. The ice white blouse wasn't the usual treated cotton, it was butter soft and very heavy silk. It probably would have run a full month's pay at her old Lieutenant's scale to buy the civilian equivalent and it settled across her skin like a lover's caress. Even better, it fit just like Maria had expected.
Warned by the quality of the blouse, she was only mildly shocked to find the almost eye-damagingly white skirt was a weighty and genuine suede. What did startle her was to discover it was one of the rare evening length dress skirts that fell almost to the toes of her shoes. These were only supposed to be made for four star officers! And at the moment, Kayla couldn't remember if there even were any women of that rank right now!
As she accepted the matching jacket, the same fine suede as the skirt only having the intensely colored sections of a full dress uniform instead of being pure white, she couldn't help asking, "Where did you get this? Who did it belong to? Aren't you gonna be in trouble for taking it?"
Maria looked at her coolly. "I might if someone ever happens to mention I have it. As far as I know, it was not actually assigned to anyone. It turned up in the back of a wrecked warehouse at Josh-A. It was neatly boxed and labeled just like any standard uniform. I have some thoughts on that warehouse as I found several interesting items on that section of shelving, most of which are in the closet right now. I'd have taken them all if some idiot hadn't tripped over some wires and started a fire that destroyed most of what was left of that end of the base."
"Riiiiiight." Kayla drawled. "That idiot may have done you a real favor you know."
"Only by accident." The General replied grimly. "He was an agent for Blue Cosmos and the fire itself was not a mistake. There was some evidence they needed ruined."
Kayla looked at the jacket she was holding and grinned evilly. "Well you know what they say about ill winds and all that. At least the bastards were somewhat useful for once."
"You have something there. Now try it on please."
She slipped it on and fastened it. It fit fairly well. Whoever it had been made for, and she was very sure it was a special and specific commission, was heavier through the chest than she was but not by enough to ruin the look. They were thicker through the waist too but the advancing pregnancy filled that almost perfectly. A look at the reflection in the mirror on the back of the door showed her a striking image. The full dress uniform really did flatter her.
"Now that is something fit and proper to wear to your wedding to a ZAFT Elite." Maria nodded in satisfaction. "You're as much a soldier as he is, Kayla, and you should never let yourself forget that. This is much more a marriage of equals than most are. I doubt your Adrian needs the reminder but there are a couple members of this family that do. There's been some really silly talk, in corners where everyone was sure you wouldn't hear it, about how helpless you were going to be up there in the Plants. Some folks need to remember that you are the Tomahawk, the only other Moebius Zero pilot besides the Hawk of Endymion ZAFT truly feared."
"I hate that stupid name!"
Her sister gave her a level eyed stare. "Hate it or love it, makes no difference. It's yours kiddo and it's a valuable lever if you use it correctly. I have no doubts about Ito's feelings for you but he's only one man and he's just a Captain at that. There will be others up there with long memories and bitter hearts who will not be happy to see any Natural in their space. Wielded properly, the title 'Tomahawk' can be sword, shield, stiletto, and olive branch all in one. No, you keep your despite for the name to yourself from now on. You can't afford to throw that kind of power away carelessly, not where you're going. The most you can manage is to gracefully suggest that your name now is Ito and you hope never to need to be the Tomahawk again. But you must never, ever, give some mindsets the idea that you have abandoned your past, that you could not return to the battlefield if the need was great enough. In fact, I suggest that soon as you get settled in, you get back in that GINN trainer and stay with it until you honestly can handle one in a real fight. There are levels of ability that command respect. For you, being genuinely competent with their unmodified equipment will force even the bitterest denier to admit you have to be considered someone to be reckoned with. And as a Natural in the Plants, you will need all the respect you can command, for your own safety, for Adrian's career, and for the safety and future of the kids."
"That's good advice Kayla. I'd take it if I were you." Gran Spotted Horse said quietly from where she was standing in the middle of the closet. "The uniform is a real bit of inspiration on your part Maria. She looks wonderful. And she looks old enough to be doing this too."
Kayla just nodded. She couldn't argue with anything Maria had said. It fit too well with too much of her own thinking and worrying. Adrian had said he'd protect her but he couldn't be with her twenty-four seven, not if he planned to stay in the ZAFT. So she was going to have to protect herself. And much as she hated to admit it, the Tomahawk name wouldn't hurt that effort.
"You two want to get back here into Kayla's room? I have some things that will be going with that outfit."
She gathered up the discarded bathrobe, hiked up the skirt and carefully slipped back through the narrow panel into her own closet. She hung the bathrobe on the back of the closet door on her way out. She found all the females of the house back in her room. How had they known she'd found something to wear?
"Ooooh!" Alys exclaimed. "I like that! You look great!"
"She's going to look even better." Her mother said calmly, motioning toward a tall stool sitting out from the dresser by enough to let people work all around whoever sat on it.
Kayla knew better than to argue about anything now. She sat obediently. At once First Kay began to brush out her hair and her mother set about getting her makeup on. After wrapping her in an old sheet to protect her clothes of course! She felt like a stuffed doll, opening and closing her eyes and lips on order as various layers of color were applied. All the while that was going on, her grandmother was doing something with the hair around her face.
Eventually everyone finished. When they stepped back, Gran stepped forward. She had a small packet wrapped in tissue paper in her hand and a very serious expression on her face. When she opened it, Kayla found herself looking at five of the smaller flight feathers from the wing of a red tailed hawk. They were roughly the length of her index finger, the shafts delicately beaded in patterned peyote stitch, each one different. They had paired bead hangers that went to heavier beads that were strung in an unmistakable Medicine pattern. They were set together in a manner to allow the feathers to fall to different lengths.
"This will do what?" She asked quietly.
"Protect." Gran replied. "Each was made by a different friend of yours. I will braid this into your hair now and you will leave it there until you reach the Plants."
It was a gift that had no price. Moreover, it was the nature of this kind of ward to be anonymous. She would never know who had done this for her. She blinked very hard, fighting not to cry. Mom would never forgive her if she wrecked the makeup job she'd just finished. All she could do was nod in thanks. But Gran saw, and Gran would tell those who should be told how their gift was received.
Once the charm was in place, First Kay finished whatever it was she was doing with her hair. The room had gotten a lot quieter. At some point, everyone but her grandmothers had left to get dressed themselves.
"So, now you are properly dressed as the soldier of the North Atlantic Federation. But you are more than that. And you should also be dressed for that as well." First Kay said quietly.
She turned to find the box she'd been given by Charlie Yellow Dog was now sitting open on her bed. Gran was lifting something out of it. First Kay suddenly reached around and lifted her hair away from her shoulders.
Even from the back of the piece she could tell what it was. Her eyes opened wide as they could go. Where had this come from? Nobody did this kind of work any more!
Then Gran was fastening it around her neck, adjusting it across her shoulders, settling the central pendent just so. Kayla stared down at it. It was a huge squash blossom necklace made of tiny, individually closely set, sky blue turquoise that formed the five flowers that faced out to each side and the three bands that connected them as well as the great horseshoe of the center pendent, all mounted in polished silver.
As she stared at the necklace, she realized Gran had a belt to go with it. The same style of tiny, double pointed stones set in almost mosaic patterns was used in the palm size conchos of the belt. These were sun wheels with layered rays spinning out from the center stone, connected to each other by fastener pieces shaped like waxing and waning moons.
Matching bracelets in the same style boasted three sun wheels of progressively smaller size marching up her arm, a minor pair forming the side bands. A sun wheel with a dependent squash blossom formed the earrings while a single wheel made up the ring that completed the set.
Only when everything was in place to her grandmother's satisfaction was she allowed to turn to the mirror to see the results. The makeup hadn't added age so much as regal dignity. And what First Kay had done with her hair was frame her face with a braid edge that kept the stray ends out of her eyes before pulling the ends back and catching them at the back of her head. This contained her hair's tendency to fall forward but left it free to tumble down her shoulders and back. The protection charm hung freely by her right ear, just above the new earring. But that wasn't what mattered.
She did not recognize the woman in the reflection. And that was what she was, a woman, not the seventeen year old girl Kayla was used to seeing in the mirror. This woman was a warrior, one who knew quite well who she was and what she was worth. This woman looked on her world with clear eyes and made her choices understanding what she would face from them. And as her clothing and jewelry so vividly made plain, she lived in the present without discarding the past. None of the uncertainties that plagued one Kayla Grayhawk had ever bothered this woman.
"Who is this?" Kayla whispered as she stared into the mirror.
"This is Soaring Hawk Woman." Red Tailed Hawk replied calmly. "You have never seen her before because you have never let yourself look. This is Eagle's Heart's mate. She is the one you call on in battle to survive and in peace to make wise choices. She is the essence of you."
"Me? Are you nuts?" She asked the Spirit in shock. "When was I ever someone that calm, that strong?"
"You have always been that person. You simply do not see it. You only see yourself from the inside. Someday, you should try looking at yourself through the eyes of another. You will be amazed at what you find." The shoulder tall bird was laughing at her.
"That's really me?"
"Yes." Hawk replied gently. "And this is how Eagle's Heart sees you."
Kayla stared at the mirror. "Adrian sees me like this?"
"Yes, because he sees what is truly there. You will fly high together."
She turned and grinned at the Hawk. "I guess so. The Plants are pretty high up there."
The Spirit gave her a gape-beaked avian grin back. "Oh, you will fly higher than that. You are a Hawk's Daughter who has chosen to mate with an Eagle's Son. Such a pairing must either crash to the earth or soar to the top of the skies. You will soar!"
"Thank you."
The Spirit faded. But before it was quite gone, it winked at her. Kayla grinned back at it. She turned away from the mirror, not needing it any more. Her heart was light for the first time in weeks really. When Gran waved impatiently at her from the door, she headed over with a long, swinging stride. She was going to marry Adrian Ito and she was going to do it now.
