Day Thirteen: Leader

"Me!" "No, Me!" "Please guys, it just has to be me!"

The noise was practically deafening, even for Nereia, who'd grown up among the swelling roar of the Oceans. Three Squaddies, three very different opinions on who should be leader. It's almost a shame they have so little time to pick.

Beckett, of course. Her companion, her District Partner, probably her closest ally. Styled himself as important even if she knew he'd grown up scraping barnacles off ship hulls and crawling back to the hole he'd found in one of the old Capitol shipyards. A good strategy that had seen him stay a tad warmer and a tad better kept than the other urchins. It was a marked contrast to her growing up, the single daughter of a ship's captain and as close as your average little girl could get to a Princess in Four. Still, they'd had each other's backs, and that was better than not having any such assurances. That's why she was so willing to

Giggly, gorgeous Heart. With the backing of Eirine she was making a play for the position at head of the Squad, arguing that only she had the abilities that would prove useful at keeping such a disparate group together. She wasn't wrong, either, that was the worst of it. She was the best suited to handling the Squad, of course she was. She was a One. But, Ner knew Ones were going to be a problem if they were in charge. The Mentors had taught her that, among other things, but that was one she was sure to remember.- Doc Manager

Cool, collected Sentinel. The boy from Two was a natural choice for leader, were it not for District loyalties Ner would be with him. Still, there was that gleam in his eye that promised Ner... She didn't know what. Promised pain, maybe, promised conflict? Promised something Ner didn't want, whatever it was.

And there was no good way of deciding between them. Heart had won the sparring, she'd won the arguments, but nobody wanted to put weight beside her except Eir. Nobody trusted her. It could be argued Sen was the best at maintaining strategic reliability, but he was too ambitious, too problematic. He'd leave any of them to die if it benefitted him.

So they're standing, at odds. They all want to be leader, and yet none of them is willing to outright say it. Hence why they're all eyeing each other, their supporter at their backs. A nice triangle, and even without weapons the most dangerous grouping in the training hall. Everyone's got fists up, glancing around.

Heart laughs, and after an instant or two the rest do as well, lowering their guards. It's Sen, in the end, who comes up with the best suggestion, after all. "A vote. Most popular wins. Feels like the fairest way to decide this."

"Are we allowed to vote?" "Laurel said voting's bad." "What if we choose shit?" Eventually, though, they get six nods. Sen nods, and Nereia goes first.

"Beckett Cuttle." Beck's puffing out his chest, speaking already.

"I vote for... Oh, who am I kidding. Beckett Cuttle."

"Heart Courtrose." That's Eirine, making puppy eyes at Heart. Entirely untrustworthy puppy eyes, puppy eyes that promised Eir was more loyal to Heart than to the squad as a whole.

"Sentinel Thala." Sen votes for himself, and in an instant everyone knows the final votes are going to be the same, they have to be. Heart for herself, Dollar for . A tie. Shit.

Heart offers a smile, and winks at Ner, and in an instant she's very afraid. "Beckett Cuttle." The circle collapses into chaos at the realization their leadership has been decided. Of course it does, because they're bound to collapse either way, and because Sentinel's not going down to the role of a grunt without a fight.

Dollar isn't even needed, and Heart leans in with a giggle as he limply offers. "Sentinel Thala." Not enough, a placation, but it's three to two to one

Heart takes a step over to Beckett and Ner, Eirine quickly following, and in an instant it's like a line has been drawn. Four and Two, a majority for now. "Sorry, all. Wanted to make sure we got the fun option!"

Maybe Heart isn't so bad, after all.

Heart's melodic giggle as she tugs her tomahawk out of Beck's back seals the deal. Her voice is as chirpy as ever. "Just you, Nereia, and then that little tree rat from Seven! Won't that be nice? Heart Courtrose, Victor! Such a shame about Beckett, isn't it?" The smile on Heart's lips is almost predatory, vicious and excited and only one of them is getting out, there's no chance of talking her down Ner had known it would end with a fight, and Heart throwing in with the Fours had sealed their fate. It had been an early break, Beck wasn't able to hold the Alliance together, but three of them would be able still to win. The spinning axe slamming into Beck had been a surprise, and even as Heart begins to toss it in spinning revolutions, deftly catching the shaft, Ner levels her trident and charges with a noise somewhere between a roar and a wail. She needs to lead Four into Victory.