Ride me, try me
Kiss me like u like me
Twist it round again and again
Fight me, try me
Kiss me like u like me
Twist it round again and again
Twist it round again and again
Twist it round again and again
-Goldfrapp, "Twist"
"So."
"So what?"
"So what's your name?"
"Why do you ask?"
Gods, why did the blonde have to be so insufferable? It had started from this morning, and now midday, she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. The blonde had been far too chipper when morning came, greeting all three of them with a bemused expression. Back in her armor she didn't look quite so… so… well no, the armor just seemed to make it worse.
Form fitting, it showed off all the curves the girl, no. No. Woman. By and far she was a woman. Almost a Goddess, instantly shaking her head with a scowl to banish that particular though. The seriousness the woman had displayed the night before seemed to have vanished, replaced by some sort of something that reminded her of sultriness and playfulness. Not that she had had much experience with the first but there had been a few that tried to infiltrate their way into her life in countless ways. Be it in the temple, in her meals, even a few were found in her bed.
"Because I can't just call out 'hey you' all the time." She finally relented with a bare scowl. Up ahead Phobos and Deimos were walking; they were supposed to be keeping a look out for things but she knew they were smirking at the drifting conversation that reached their ears.
"Mmm no, you can't. But I have other things you could call out." The blonde answered with a leer, her body slinking up against the Priestess' own. With disgust the other pushed her off, sending her a look that could only be a glare. Could only be likened to something that could strip the very shine off of her armor. Which she wore, minus her helmet; that was too busy hanging from her pack. She didn't have the means, much less the knowledge of how to fix it. Likely even if she had an idea of how to heat metal and make it stronger by beating it repeatedly with a hammer, there were not the facilities available here. Not in some cave.
Silence followed, other than their footsteps. It stretched for a time before the blonde laughed softly, fingers raising to brush through her long hair, at least what she easily could given that the bandage was still wrapped around her temple. She had unwrapped the bandage that morning, using her breastplate before donning it to see how badly the injury was. The Priestess had a steady hand, a deft one at that when it came to bandaging, but the bruising that remained would be a long time in going away.
"It's Minako." She replied with, leaving the rest of it out. It didn't matter, not right now. It wasn't subterfuge; at least not much anyway, she would have said more but she was learning quickly enough that Martians were not the most open about much of anything. Thus far the Priestess hadn't offered much so why should she in return? She could justify anything given enough incentive.
"Minako." The Priestess replied, glancing at her for a moment before back ahead. Just long enough to completely miss the way the other shivered when she spoke her name. She seemed to accept that was all that was given.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Well what about yourself? Or are you content with just me calling you 'Priestess' all the time?" The other looked at her. No, Minako, looked at her. She had a name. She could use it. Yet likely she wouldn't, feeling it wasn't. Wasn't something. Proper wasn't the word, but she couldn't think of what it was. A feeling instead, desiring to remain out of her presence.
She snorted, her stride increasing to walk up by the two men up ahead. She needed to get away, and instantly felt a loss by being away from her. It made her scowl, whatever it was that Minako, no, the blonde, was doing to her. Phobos continued walking along side her, a silent nod to Deimos who dropped back to where the blonde was following along behind them.
Watching as the Priestess strode angrily ahead she shared a secretive smile with herself. It could have been the fact that she could enjoy the view from behind, from afar. Or it could have been any of the underlying emotions too. Regardless it was something for her to enjoy, seeing as how it gave her something to do to focus her mind off of walking. She had lots she could think of, such as what was going on.
A glance was given to the man next to her, an eye picking out that he was a soldier of some sort; they all had that look to them. It was in the way that they walked, the look in their eye. Sometimes in the way that they handled themselves both in and out of a fight. But the true test of noticing someone was of that profession was seeing them outside a fight. For all they did was simply look towards the next one.
"You're rather good." He broke the silent study first, offering her his opinion in simple words that held a meaning all of their own. Up ahead the other and the Priestess seemed intent on making the rest of the trek to wherever it was in dead silence. A bare shrug of her shoulders followed in turn, readjusting the pack across her shoulders which sent her helmet to return to its softly muffled clanking sound as it barely connected with the back plate of her breastplate, covered by her cloak.
"You two are used to working in pairs aren't you? Its a very complimentary style." She offered a longer appraisal to what she had seen of the two fighting. It took years to develop that kind of familiarity to be able to pull it off, to know that the other would strike when you were recovering, that they would defend you if you were unable, and that they knew in turn you would protect them all the same. She had a sort of admiration for that, finding the benefit of fighting in such a way but never had she been given the opportunity to.
Maybe with this mission though… the Queen had not indicated anyone else. But there wasn't anyone else to collect anyway. The outer planets had been trained long before she was sent to her mission; she should know being an outsider to that particular training process. She took it of course, and excelled in her own fashion, but the outer planets had a responsibility that was beyond the initial scope she was there for. Yes they were ultimately her charges, her decision how to use, but if the wheel wasn't broke why fuck with it?
She had gone to Mercury first, the orbit made the planet quicker to arrive to, plus it gave her time to learn how their transportation systems worked. The girl was a study and then some, buried in documentation and notes yet a brilliant mind. She could have been a battlefield commander save that she wanted all the variables known before she decided how to react. In battle you didn't often have that time nor such blessings, but she would willingly acknowledge that there was more to this than just fighting.
She had a refinement, albeit a shy one, but a way of drawing people to her to find out about the shell she was encased in. Effective even if a bit unconventional, yet she could laugh with her all the same as they discussed nuances of the worlds about them. She hadn't put up a complaint when told what she was there for, her reason of being there; it was known Venusians were generally too caught up in themselves to worry about what the other planet inhabitants did. Mercury however, was loyal to the Empire, and thankfully it hadn't taken long once she explained who she was. It was a way to get away from the long, outstanding traditions the girl had explained. Her life had been decided for her from the start, expectations abound that were lofty beyond compare. To get to be something more was a dream come true for her, one that she had held for ages.
On the Moon was where she had left her, allowing her to begin what was probably a horrific tasking of discovering the state, or possible lack thereof, of the systems there. She had promised she would get the opportunities to do everything they had discussed back on her native world, but first she had to gather the rest of the guard. It was all a timing issue; she had a few days before she would be back on a ship and this time heading to Jupiter. That time was spent in meetings, training, and crash course reviews over what to expect from the Jovians.
Without even a moment to herself to engage in something recreational, she was once more subjected to the boredom of planetary travel. Her thoughts returned to the present, breaking from the reverie as her mind quickly processed the other had spoken. She feigned for the moments to recover by looking like she was thinking, or checking something on her person; resettling one's sword was a perfect means to buy time after all.
Realizing that he had just explained that he had fought alongside the other, Phobos he named him, she felt a slight sense of relief that it hadn't been a serious question. Still though, she mentally chastised herself for not paying attention to the matter at hand. Nodding in response even if it was out of place, she introduced herself the same way that she had to the Priestess, leaving it as just her name. The man responded in turn with his name, before she launched into a question before he could ask her anything along the line of where she was from.
"The Priestess said that you've been dealing with warlords for quite some time." The ice, as they called it, had been broken in its countless unconventional fashions. Even if you didn't know the person, once you fought alongside them and killed with them, it took the formal process out of the equation. It was best this way, otherwise you deal with false bravado from claims that were not easily backed or even believable. She felt comfortable with making the statement, adopting the apparent Martian way of speaking bluntly. It was a far cry from her native Venusian, much less adopted Lunar. The former was all about the innuendos and laced words, the latter about refinement and never quite speaking what it was that you meant.
"Aye. For years now. Not normal to see such an increase." Deimos responded in kind, rather blunt in his words but she was used to reading between the lines of what he didn't outright vocalize. It was what had her worried, if not alarmed. Warlords were common here sure, but not with such frequency. She tried to recall what she knew of Martian culture outside of their barbaric nature, querying next, "What about the King? Isn't he doing anything about it?"
"No one's heard from the King. In the same amount of time and before they became more commonplace."
That was not what she liked to hear. Yes she was supposed to collect the Priestess, but also the Queen desired to hear the status of the planet as well. Letters went unanswered. Delegations had been sent here and none had returned. Communication was a joke at the very best. She frowned slightly; another thing to dwell on before she changed the subject. With a nod up at the Priestess and Phobos she spoke softly, "Is the Priestess a combatant?"
It got the other to laugh, a rich sound that allowed her to warm to him. She wasn't averse to men, fuck she wasn't averse to anyone for that matter. Trust being not so easily given she found common ground with at least one of the two guards. Phobos and the Priestess turned momentarily to see what was the cause before returning their attention to ahead of them.
"She could be, she has the spirit for it. She refuses to learn from us though."
"Us? Meaning you and Phobos?"
"Aye. Offered to teach her what we know. The sword, the spear, even the bow if she was wanting to stay out of a fight. She won't have anything to do with it."
Hmm. Maybe it was time for a woman's touch. At once her mind ran with it in countless directions, most of them outright sexual in context. Calm down Minako, waiting makes it all the better, she chided herself. You don't even know if she's so inclined. Suspect yes but come on. "It's … it's not something with her religion, is it?" Fuck that would be horrible if she found out the Priestess was supposed to be a noncombatant. Try explaining to a pacifist that they had to not only defend but fight on behalf of the Princess' safety. She'd sooner give up sex altogether, the thought an affront to her nature.
"Nay, nothing to do with that. Be just mayhap waiting for the right teacher." Deimos shrugged, having long since given up on the matter. Phobos still tried on occasion but it was probably tradition for him. "Town up ahead, 'bout 'nother half hour time be there. Smithy, if you be wanting your helm fixed. We'll do lunch, find where the Priestess wants us to go from there."
With that the man nodded to her, moving to resume his place on point with the other three. For the time she was left to walk after them alone, silently mulling over what had been said. She ignored the political ramifications, the state of the planet and its people under the oppressive nature of roving idiots fighting over the surface. She ignored that the monarchy was in disarray, that Lunar emissaries were likely held captive if not dead.
She looked instead at the Priestess' back, watching in silent study. An enigma, one she wanted to debunk the myth of yet be constantly taken in by the mystery of her. The fact they wouldn't reach the transport in a fortnight crossed her mind; had she known that when she landed she would have balked at the notion. Now though, with a further reason to stay if just to find the cause of distress, she almost found herself looking forward to being here for a time.
Almost.