She moved through the halls, steps echoing as was so often the case with not a soul around. Sephiroth clung to her side, her coat flopping about as she pressed forward, hair swaying from side to side. Much of the day had already gone by, from hours of training, to hours of personal time. Now, it stood as only an hour until her meeting with Captain Hope and the rest of the squad.
She exhaled with the turn of a corner, closing her eyes briefly, opening them with a twitch of her lower jaw.
“{Another hour, another day, another lifetime,}” she thought to herself, “{Lets see… the observation garden room should be just ahead. Huh?}”
Up ahead a cluster of individuals stood. Their backs to the entrance to a room, people stood in black leather with a coat of wolf fur draped around them, broadswords sheathed on their backs. A wolf hat blocked their eyes, revealing only their mouths. Those before them were a group of Tribe officers, one in the standard coat with stars, others in the strange plastic-looking white armor.
“We can’t just let you pass, so turn back now!” one of the wolf warriors barked.
“Now see here, this is Tribe property you ruffian. We might be allies but that doesn’t give you the right!” one Tribe soldier spat back.
“Do you want to escalate this?” the officer of the Tribe questioned.
“What’s going on here?” Elise called out on a slow approach towards the group.
All Tribe personnel turned round, while the wolf warriors seemed to give her their attention as well. She looked puzzled from one group to the other, finally settling right on the leader of the Tribe group, “Sergeant?”
“Plefh, if you must know, these hooligans are stopping us from accessing the observatory. This is a Tribe facility and they are visitors here,” he growled while turning back around.
One of the wolf warriors turned their attention back to the man with a shake of the head, “No sir. We have been granted permission by your leadership that if we choose to occupy a room we may do so. Right now her majesty and his lordship are in discussion with another ally about certain affairs.”
Elise looked to the leader of the wolf head warriors, looking him down and up again, silent for a number of seconds. He looked to her, then to the Tribe official once more. Finally, the silence was broken, “Sergeant… dismissed.”
“What’s that?” he growled turning round to look at Elise once more.
At this time they all had turned to look, all eyes on her as she continued, “I outrank you, and I’m instructing you to get going.”
“Now see here- this is our base. I won’t let these hooligans-”
“Our base, our guests. It’s as simple as that. They are allies in need and right now they want some time with their other allies, who I believe are also ours. If you have a problem with that,” she concluded while glancing with daggers back to the official, “Then take it up with someone who outranks me.”
“Outranks you?!” the man growled turning fully to Elise, stepping right up in front of her, “You’re just a child, you shouldn’t outrank anyone!”
She glared back at him, shorter, yet still towering in her own right as she stepped forward looking up, “I was given my rank because of my performance, and because of the trust Lady Bell has in my judgment.”
“That doesn’t mean SHIT to me. You’re still just a brat. I’m sure that General Abagor would demote you in a heartbeat.”
“Then bring him here,” she growled back, still looking up into his eyes, “See if he thinks something as trivial as this is worth his time. I’m sure he’d love to tell you where to stick your opinion.”
Shock flooded him at once, face twisted with his right eye now twitching. A step was taken aback as he clamored on, “I- you- what the- GRAH!”
“Yes, Sergeant?” she asked once more.
“BAH! This isn’t over!” he spat storming off passed her, followed soon after by his soldiers.
Her head turned with a side step in order to witness him leave. In doing so, a bigger exhale of air occurred, eyes closed yet again.
“Thank you Ms...-” one of the wolf soldiers began.
Elise turned back round and gave a nod right back to the soldier, “Bakuuva, Elise Bakuuva. Sorry about that- I’m getting kind of sick of the jerks around here myself.”
“Bakuuva… as in Lieutenant Bakuuva right?”
“Uh- yeah?”
“Well that’s convenient. Listen uh, we dispatched a couple guys earlier to go and find you actually. Lords Ryuu and Zenith have actually requested your presence inside,” the warrior said with a head scratch via the back of his head.
“Presence? What for?”
“They did not say. So if you would, please uh- go on through,” he concluded stepping aside.
She looked at him, then to the others who also stepped aside. A slight nod was given, customary it seemed, before she moved on down the hall heading towards the garden area.300Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF79EIoufV
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Deep inside the garden, the two stood in tandem, Zenith before Ryuu with Ryuu to his back. Zero stood near as well, along with the Princess and Satoshi, then another group of five. Guards stood all around, arms tucked behind their backs, legs pressed together with feet pointing straight. Ryuu’s arms went up with a shrug, his head tilted to the side, while Zenith then simply turned right around.
“I’m just saying General- are you sure about lying like that?” Ryuu questioned, his tone serious, his expression highly focused, only a slight quiver present in his voice.
“It is her highness’s wishes, for she does not trust our allies and I’m sure you can relate,” Zenith replied with a deep tone, low growl.
“Zenith is right,” the princess murmured, low and deep with sorrow, “Our lives are politics to them.”
“We’ll keep telling them what we want them to think until they try to intervene. This is a test for this alliance as well don’t forget,” Zenith added.
“With all due respect,” one of the five growled, stepping forth, “I don’t trust those Lightonians one bit. They’ve left us out to dry for most of the conflict, even when they knew the Hive was looking into allying with the North or the Maltans. They only give a damn now because their precious shard and temple are at risk!”
A young lad, likely fourteen in age, eyes of silver in contrast to his dark hair kept short.
“Mmm. The Tribe expects you to conquer your smaller allies for resources and territory to assist. You’ve claimed to have done it, and yet-”
“We haven’t because we don’t want to think that way, Ryuu,” Zenith carried on, “We are all people of Frostosis, to have to conquer our own- allies especially just to gain some magic foothold. Preposterous!”
“Not even the North and the Maltans have tried such a thing, and they are both power hungry allies to each other,” another of the group spoke.
A tall girl with overflowing blonde hair, red eyes of vibrant ruby blending with the almost gold consistency.
“The North Clan and the Maltans are getting along more than we would like… they are pressing too hard to really be stopped at this point, unless all of the remaining fragments of the clan come together to put them back in their place. It’s so clear that the North is under the Hive’s influence, and the Maltans appear to be under the influence of some other type of force,” Zenith replied.
“Are there ANY options at this point?” Ryuu questioned.
“Minimal at this point,” Zenith sighed.
A set of footsteps came close, booming off of the ground and rock. Heads turned just then as Elise and one of the Guards approached the group. Ryuu’s eyes lit up swiftly, while anger welled up on some of the faces of the others. Zenith looked her over and then nodded right to the guard. With a bow the guard broke off and left, leaving Elise to approach the group alone.
“Elise?” Zero mumbled.
“Lieutenant Bakuuva, I presume. Welcome,” Zenith called out.
“Uh- thanks uh-”
“Zenith will do for now,” he replied.
“That’s just great!” the young lad from before spat, “Why is this Lightonian here?!”
“Daemon, hush,” the blond muttered.
“But sis-”
“It’s alright,” Satoshi stated, cutting him off, “The General called for her.”
“A Lightonian? Why though?” another of the group asked, another older lady, mid-back length dyed blue hair, a lance attached to her back with a rope off of the pommel.
“Because, I want to confirm something,” Zenith murmured, now walking forward passed Ryuu, moving right up towards Elise who had stopped in place.
“Confirm something?” Elise asked.
“Yes,” Zenith responded now a few feet from Elise where he stopped, looking her over just as she was looking him over, “I’m guessing you haven’t heard our conversation until this point?”
“No- I just got here.”
“Certain are you? Or are you lying so you can tell your superiors later?”
“No,” she said with a growing glare, “I have no business telling anyone anything, let alone any superiors you think I should be reporting to.”
“Heh,” he chuckled with a slight smirk, “Very good.”
With that he put his back to her and paced away. Elise looked around the room and then back to him, a scowl rising up, “What’s this about?!”
He stopped amidst the middle of the group, looking straight ahead, “So if I were to tell you that we don’t trust the Tribe and are lying to them about our intel… you wouldn’t be tempted to rat us out?”
“Lord Zenith!” the blond girl choked.
“The hell is he doing?” Zero hissed to Ryuu.
“Not sure,” he muttered back to Zero.
“No,” Elise said, bold while still looking at Zenith’s back.
“What?”
“Huh?!”
Silence for yet another moment, from which Zenith blinked, turning his head down and back slightly to position his ear better, seemingly.
“Everyone is entitled to their own reasoning, and I’m sure you have your own for not trusting the Tribe. I would only ask though… why even be allies if you don’t?”
“Do you trust them?” Zenith asked, arms crossed behind his back, still looking back as he was in a manner of speaking.
“I-” she began, chomping down immediately with a slight step back.
A glance at the ground, eyes drawn closed more, a slight shake of the head as her hair stood on end. It took only a couple seconds before she looked back up, a sorrowful expression replacing her scowl of anger. Zenith at that point turned around again as all others in the room faced her.
“No, I don’t,” she replied simply.
“What?!” Daemon coughed.
“I don’t trust them- I don’t think I ever have,” she continued.
“Don’t trust? But Elise, Ryuu and I were there! You accepted them and went on to free Vulfax with their help!” Zero called out.
“Honestly, while I let go of what I was feeling in that moment, I refuse to forgive them. They put me through Hell and only because they saw me as a potential weapon. Even now, seeing their practices- how they treat their allies and others like me… I can’t approve of that.”
Zenith gave a nod, “I see… you’re still resentful of them, and so very disappointed in what you’ve seen. If I were to guess, you’re only working with them to accomplish a goal or two of your own. Am I right?”
“Right,” she boldly stated, looking back up at Ryuu, “I haven’t, nor do I intend to… I do not wish to officially join them.”
“As I thought,” Zenith sighed with eyes closed, exhaling, “I had heard much about the Tribe’s special projects. You actually were the big talk when Stingray came up. Some consider you a success to their centuries of trying to indirectly raise a strong warrior- and then there are others who doubt your ability and want to see you removed. Still, you have a strong resolve to do the right thing, that is very apparent to me.”
“Zenith,” Ryuu grumbled looking over at him, “She’s young and inexperienced. Maybe you should-”
“I don’t care Ryuu. The South is losing ground and the Tribe with their games are not helping. We need people who believe in the cause, who can actually help us. Don’t forget, Princess Lynn Anne Tabatha Jacobs Frost is also young and making big decisions. Never underestimate the youth- I’m sure there’s a handful of times where your apprentice has made better choices than you even.”
Ryuu silenced himself, glancing over to a shocked Zero who stared back in turn.
“Both her majesty and myself believed we could confirm our theories by speaking with this young girl, and sure enough, we’ve seen her view and have a conclusion. This alliance is failing, nothing but old traditionalists refusing to take on new ideals. And the unfortunate thing is that they aren’t dropping off enough to be replaced, as bad as that sounds.”
“What can I do to help?” Elise asked, looking at Zenith.
“Please,” a young voice called out, that of Lynn Frost, who now slowly approached Elise.
Elise turned in full to witness her approach, big eyes full of grief, a scrunched face of bitterness and distaste. The princess stopped feet away, looking up into Elise’s eyes.
“Please… help my people survive.”
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