Sword & Shield Beta

Chana sits on the chair underneath the Captain's Pavilion. She can't help but hope that this meeting will explain their new, shiny, running horses that are fantastically used to being around a war. They have been remarkably calm, and Chana is grateful, but suspicious. Her horse is beautiful and solid--very fast. She's tested him on several occasions.

Still..why did they have the entire Unit of Altair train for riding horses? And who were these two, new, tough battlemages that have shown up a few hours earlier with horses of their own, with reassignment papers? Horses this trained and groomed are not common, as well as expensive....so what the hell is going on?

It's a bright day, early morning as the sun is just rising over the tree tops of the forest, making the dark place look beautiful, despite its depressing purpose in this region. The grass is green and alive here, thankfully, on this side of the wall. The trees of the forest are starting to look pretty bad...

At least she's used to being outside, now. Several buildings around the wall's fortification are still being built, so they've had to camp here for the past month as they hold the Kurian's to the forest. Luckily, no Earth Kurian's have shown up, or she'd probably have hated sleeping on the ground. She can still hear the sounds of fighting on the other side of the wall...so much screaming and clashing metal upon metal. A Kurian's roar shakes the pavilon's tent, bringing her attention back to the current situation, where she is left wondering why she is up here, instead of out there, fighting with the other units.

Her head jerks to the side as the two new members that showed up in the night sit at the meeting table. The pavilion sways to the side as the wind swishes through, blowing her hair to the side just as she stares at the strangers with interest. They look noble, to say the least. Great. The Guys'll love having newbies. Though....they sure as hell don't look like newbs.

Demitri took a seat next to Chana after she sat in her own chair. He had to be torn from his earlier work of preparing a natural cream for healing burn wounds. Even as Demitri sat there, unsure of why a meeting was called, he still wished he could get back to his business. The new unit members looked interesting; one looked to be strong and well armored-definitely Arruinar. The other, more slim and gentle. Demitri pegged the "Ayudar" name on her, at least until she reported which rank she belonged to.

Demitri looked out to the trees, wondering what plants he could find beyond the protective walls. There were some ingredients he needed to make a medicine that would prevent open wounds from festering. Maybe they were out there, subject to the war and chaos that made the forest trees appear so ill. Demitri sighed as he imagined countless plants getting trampled, smashed, uprooted, and other harrowing fates. With all the necessary ingredients, not only could Demitri become a better medic, but he could do a better job of caring for Chana.

The bandanna-wearing Ayudar glanced at Chana out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want her to find him staring again and cause another awkward moment. Something inside Demitri sank as he continued to look at Chana. Maybe it was fear that at any moment he could lose her, or that strange twinge of nervousness when he sees just how attractive the woman looks. Before Demitri could realize it, he began gazing at Chana, deep in thought and lost to the world around him.

Regulus stood off to the side in the Captain's Pavilion, a stoic expression on his face hiding the turmoil underneath. He'd only been captain for a few weeks and still wasn't entirely used to it, and now they had these two war veterans showing up. He didn't know if he was good enough for the job, but he'd said yes anyway because he knew it would please his father.

He watched the two new members take their seats at the table; they hadn't seemed to notice him yet. Caspian Astrophel and Eowyn Tinuviel - they looked so noble and sure of themselves, even though they'd arrived in the middle of the night and probably hadn't had much sleep. Next to arrive were Demitri Helianthus and Chana Laydth, who took their seats with clear curiosity on their faces. He didn't blame them, no one had really been told what was going on.

For the past two weeks or so he'd been training with the troops to ride horses effectively and he hadn't told them why. Of course, he couldn't if he wanted to because he didn't know either. The orders had been given without explanation so he just followed them, though he was most curious as well. It didn't hurt to practice horse riding anyway.

Regulus looked around at the gathered magi. Was he really cut out for this? Should he be leading these people when their lives could very well be on the line? He closed his eyes; no, if he started second-guessing himself it would lead to disaster. He hoped the others would show up soon so he wouldn't have time to dwell on this stuff and make it worse.

Minutes ticked by and the remaining seats were still empty. He folded his arms and furrowed his brow. Who was missing? His bondmate, Mihael Castellanos, was; Regulus had tried to wake him up but he'd gone back to sleep, so he figured he could just go with Isadore. However, Isadore Castellanos was another of the missing, along with his partner Takato Jacobien.

"What's taking them...?" Regulus mumbled to himself. Up to some sort of antics, no doubt. He should never have left those three without someone to make them focus.

Caspian had begun talking to Demitri and Chana, so Regulus stepped forward. "Captain Regulus, at your service. We're just waiting for a few others to show up..."

(Collab with sagiri!)

Isadore had awoken incredibly early to ensure that he would have enough time to get ready. After making sure his clothing were as wrinkle-free as possible, he got washed and dressed. At that time he figured it was about time to start waking up the others, so he walked over to Mihael's bed first. Isadore put a hand on his brother's shoulder and gave him a shake. "Wake up, we have a meeting to attend," he said a bit sternly.

Mihael was jolted from what had been a peaceful sleep by his brother shaking him and talking to him. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled at the very blurry Isadore in front of him. "Mm... good morning, Isa," he said sleepily, wrapping his arms around his brother as his head flopped forward onto Isa's shoulder. He stayed like that for a few seconds, until he felt more awake. "Do you know where my glasses are?"

Before Isadore could react, Mihael hugged him. He sighed. "No," he responded as he wriggled free from his brother's hold. "But you should find them and start getting ready soon or we'll be late." With that, Isadore moved over to Takato. Upon seeing that his partner had yet another overnight guest, he sighed again. "You need to get up now or we'll be late for the meeting," he said as he shook Takato's shoulder. "And do you really need to bring so many women here?"

It didn't take Mihael long to find his glasses and when he put them on, he saw Isadore engaging in the difficult task of getting Takato out of bed. He sat cross legged on his bed and watched the process.

Takato groaned. "Shh, she's sleeping" he muttered. "...shit, is the meeting today?" He scowled at Isadore's next question. "Yeah, I do need to bring so many women here; I don't wanna risk ending up like you." With that, his eyes closed again.

Isadore sighed huffily as he ran a hand through his hair. "Just get up. You are going to make us late." He went and got his comb, and then returned to Takato's bed while combing his hair.

"Ugh..." Takato's eyes opened again. "It's gonna take me like three minutes to get ready and it's gonna take you like three hours to comb your hair. Do the math."

"No," Isadore argued as he continued combing. "Getting you out of bed will probably take longer than combing my hair. And what are you going to do about this woman? She can't stay here unsupervised."

"She can come with me," Takato said with a shrug, curling closer to her. "Just relax, we'll be there in plenty of time. You finish combing your luscious princess locks and we'll go from there."

Just then, Mihael decided to go over to Isadore. "Did Reggie go to the meeting already? He's not here."

"What? But you can't..." Isadore began, but was interrupted by Mihael. He turned toward his brother briefly. "Yes, he did. And you need to start getting ready to go." Looking back at Takato, Isadore began combing his hair more forcefully. "Why can't you just get out of bed? This meeting is important and everyone will have to wait for us in order to start it."

"You're gonna give yourself a heart attack," Takato said, but he sighed. "All right, all right."

"Okay!" Mihael hurried off to clean up and change. By the time he returned, Takato was still in the process of rolling out of bed. Takato finally did roll out of bed, raking a hand through his hair as he stumbled off to find some clothes, as he had a distinct lack of them on at the moment. Mihael just glanced at Isadore. "Are we really late?" He didn't want to make Regulus look bad.

Isadore was satisfied with Takato's response and with Mihael getting ready so quickly. However, he had to look away when his partner finally got out of bed, quickly turning his attention to Mihael. "Well, everybody else is already leaving or gone. Your hair is such a mess... can't you comb it or something?" He still hadn't finished with his own hair.

"I can... but aren't we in a hurry?" Mihael said, getting his comb and starting to comb his hair anyway. A fully clothed Takato came back and he woke the woman in his bed by kissing her lips. He whispered to her that she was going to have to come to the meeting with him and she seemed all right with that. She collected her clothing off the floor and followed Takato as he led her off to dress and clean up. Mihael tilted his head. "Did she join our unit?"

"No, she didn't," Isadore responded with a sigh. "And we are in a hurry, so you can comb your hair on the way there." He walked over to the door of the barracks and waited, still combing. He didn't really have much choice but to let Takato bring the woman to the meeting. "He really needs to start taking things seriously," he grumbled to himself.

Mihael sighed, following Isadore to the door. "Can I just not bother?" he asked, casually leaning his head against his brother's shoulder. "It'll be hard to comb and walk."

Just then, Takato and the woman emerged arm in arm, both fully dressed. However, their hair was enough to tell the story of what had occurred between them. "Ready to get going?" Takato asked. The woman smiled at him, but ignored the other two.

"You can manage," Isadore said to Mihael as he pulled away from him. He had to faceplam at the sight of his partner. "Really...? Well, we don't have much more time. You will have to go as you are." Shaking his head, Isadore turned and left the building.

The group hurried to the meeting. As Mihael had predicted, it was difficult to comb his hair and walk simultaneously. He occasionally ran the comb through his hair on the way there to appease his brother and was still doing so as they arrived at the meeting. He smiled brightly when he saw Regulus, quickly hugging his bondmate before taking a seat, gazing at the newcomers with curiousity.

Takato took his seat and since there wasn't any room for his 'friend', she just sat on his lap. "Hope we're not too late."

Isadore arrived and saw that everyone was waiting for them. He was embarrassed by being late and by the behaviour of the two who arrived with him, but he tried his best to hide it. "Captain," he said to Regulus with a polite nod before taking his seat next to Takato. "Please excuse our tardiness." Isadore glanced at the two soldiers that he didn't recognize before averting his gaze from the group as a whole.

Chana looks over to find her bondmate staring again. She winks at him, leaning over and whispering quietly to him just as the male newcomer introduces himself.

"You're not imagining me naked, are you?" She whispers teasingly as she pulls away with a grin. She nods her head in recognition of the introduction and opens her mouth to respond when the Captain steps out and speaks for her.

Finally, the guys show up...with a random chick? Is that even allowed? Chana says nothing, but shakes her head silently as she looks to the Captain to deal with that mess. She remains silent through the entire ordeal, deciding that silence, over sarcasm, is the winner in this situation.

As usual, Demitri was so out of sync that he didn't hear one of the newcomers introduce himself. It wasn't until Chana made her remark that Demitri broke out of his own trance. He fidgeted and stared wide-eyed for a second, then turned his head away. "Of course not!" He whispered to his bondmate. If anyone knew how to get Demitri out of his enclosed state of mind, it was Chana.

When Demitri reconstructed himself, he remembered a vague voice asking for the names of the group. Demitri looked to the two new members and introduced himself. "The name's Demitri Helianthus. Ayudar. Pleasure to meet you." He said in a friendly tone.

Eventually, the whole unit had arrived, the last being the three guys and an unfamiliar woman. The three appeared as if they rushed to get here, and that woman's hair...

Before Demitri got lost in his own thoughts again, he turned his attention to Regulus, seeing that everyone had arrived.

At last the latecomers finally arrived, and it was apparent that they had been rushing along. Regulus noticed the strange woman who Takato had brought along and managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Before he could say anything, however, his bondmate had approached and hugged him. He didn't flinch though; he was pretty used to Mihael's antics and it wouldn't look good for a captain to appear rattled in front of his unit.

After everyone had settled in to their seats Regulus stood at the head of the pavilion. "Well, it appears that everyone is here now. By now you know that we have two newcomers: Caspian Astrophel and Eowyn Tinuviel, Kurian specialists." He nodded to the two. "Let me introduce you to my unit."

He listed off the names, gesturing to each person with the corresponding name and indicating who their partner was. When he got to Takato, though, he stopped. "Takato Jacobien, I would ask that before we go any further could you please show your lady-friend out."

Regulus had no idea where he had picked her up, but she had no business being there and he refused to go any further with her there.

Mihael smiled warmly at the newcomers as Regulus introduced everyone. He looked a little surprised when Takato was asked to escort the woman out, but it would be kind of weird to have her there. It had been nice having the extra travelling companion, though.

"Aw, okay, okay..." Takato said. He went off with his arm around the woman's waist and returned alone. He took his seat, leaning back slightly and barely resisting the urge to prop his feet on the table. "Sorry about that, Captain."

"What did you do with her?" Mihael asked. He hoped he didn't just leave her stranded somewhere.

"She's apparently from the area. Jeez, what do you take me for? Anyway... sorry, it won't happen again."

Eowyn bowed towards the newcomers that her husband and bondmate Caspian had introduced her too. She then stood back up straight and took here place next to her mate showing no emotion as she usually did for wars. She couldnt show emotion she learned in on of her many battles. It scares the young ones and and makes teh others worry. So she stays silent and attentive next to mate letting him talk unless she has to. She took her seat as Caspian pulled it out for her sitting down nodding her head towards him in thank and then others at the table in acknowledgement of them.

Isadore nodded at the two newcomers as he was introduced, though he was embarrassed to be called Takato's partner. He was certain that the newcomers had a horrible first impression of him; he hadn't even had time to properly straighten out his hair. However, it was only in his head, as he didn't appear disheveled in the least.

When Takato returned, Isadore shot him an unhappy look. He should have tried harder to make him leave the woman behind, but they hadn't had much time to spare. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated with himself for failing to get them to the meeting on time.

"So, Captain, why have you called us here?" Isadore asked. He knew that they were there to meet the new soldiers, but he had suspicions that there would be a discussion about the new horses.

Eowyn stood up sliently and gracefully next to her husband saying calmly, "My dear, relax. I know this is war but still we obviously have some new comers." She looked out at the table of her new group and bowed to them. "Hello. My name is Eowyn as my husband said. I am not as harsh as he tends to be though, I am the better fighter and more skilled" she said with a light chuckle, "You may have noticed that I am very quiet in this setting and your right. I study people especially my team. Which you all are. You are our team." Eowyn pulled back her hair and put it into a pony tail revealing the giant scars on either side of her neck. "This," she said showing her neck, "Is proof of what they can do. I was lucky to have Caspian around otherwise I would have died. You have got to be ready for this. You weere choosen becasue you were the best. Now you all may ask anything oand name your specialty from these three options so we can decide the best riding formation: Support, Defense, or Offense. If Offense pleases state whether you are a ranged fighter or close combat fighter.”

Regulus watched Takato lead the woman outside and then return. He nodded to the other man when he apologized. Takato would soon learn that it would be in his best interest to remember that. Isadore, who was clearly unamused by the whole thing, then asked why they were there, at which point Regulus turned to the Kurian experts.

While Caspian explained the situation, Regulus stayed silent. He already knew about all of this, but it sounded even more heavy this time around. He looked around at the others as the explanation went on, trying to gauge how they were taking it. It had taken him a while to come to terms with it himself; it was such a big responsibility and he didn't know if he was really the right guy for the job. However, if he could pull this off then surely he would bring pride to the Thuban name.

When Caspian got to the end, however, Regulus frowned. Eowyn echoed him and Regulus didn't like it at all. These people were trying to take over his unit, and he knew he shouldn't stand for it. They were veterans of the war, so he understood why they thought they outranked him, and it made it all the harder to stand up to them. He swallowed and looked at them.

"Excuse me, Sir Caspian and Lady Eowyn, but I believe choosing the tactical layout is the job of the captain. If you don't mind, I will decide the riding formation," he said. It came out a bit more forcefully than he'd intended, but his point stood.

He quickly turned toward his unit. "As you can see, our lives in this unit will never be the same. I assume you see now why we trained so much with those horses, and I expect you'll all do your best in the days ahead."

As this Caspian fellow finished his long, redundant oration, Chana resists the urge to be incredibly rude. Then, his bondmate repeats one of his lines, which truly irritates her. She's about to reply again, but the Captain drills one of her points home.

Apparently, stating one's need to rush repeatedly, reputation threats based on a past, failed group, and flashing around scars makes them more capable in this war then their unit. Let's not forget the fact that they are smashing down what little morale they have and are trying to learn about the unit's abilities without even revealing their own. Hell, they probably had documentation on the group, as it is.

Chana cringes as she remembers the woman's words: "I study people--especially my team. Which you all are. You are our team." The hell is this, ownership, now? She doesn't like these people, not at all. What a way to tell people that you've fucked up their entire Unit process. They don't even feel bad that they've altered their entire daily life. In fact, it almost seems as they expect them to just take it and walk straight.

Older or not, these people were Ensen, just like she was and she isn't going to just sit back and listen to them tell her what she does and doesn't need to do. She gets to hear about not complaining when she's just learning what their new mission is?! Who in Kurian's Hell do they think they are??

"Permission to speak freely, Captain?" Chana asks after a moment of silence. Regulus nodded, granting her wish. She crosses her arms, speaking as though she is clearly not impressed, but keeps her tone carefully neutral. "Sir, you might give us an example on how best to convey our abilities to you in a way that you desire."

Ewoyn stayed next to her mate realizing how they had probably just come across. Whispering to her mate she said, "Maybe we should tell them our abilities and sound less cold about all of this" As Captain Regulus stood and spoke to them she nodded apologetically and understanding what he was saying completely. She then looked at Chana, she could already tell that she was going to be a handful. Then said, "I will let someone else answer that but for now I want to apologize. I know how harsh we must sound but the last team we had tried walking on us and while we are not the Captains we are the reason this team exists. We have had many teams in our run doing this dangerous task and we have learned that if you are not cold and strict nothing will get done or people will die. And when I say you are our team I mean that you are not our slave group or something like that we are apart of the team as well. We are just veterans of war so we've done this a few times. But i sincerely apologize for how we were talking. We will do better." She then look to Caspian letting him speak.

As Caspian delivered his long-winded speech, Demitri sat there, clearly perplexed. He understood the man was a war veteran, but where did this whole monologue come from? Demitri expected the captain to explain the scenario and everything. The man even went as far as giving imperative directions as if he was leading the group. While Caspian spoke, Demitri discreetly turned his eyes to Regulus, giving his "Can you believe this?" expression.

The thought of being a convoy didn't phase him one bit. He enjoyed being outdoors and was fairly punctual. He only worried for Chana and her safety. If the two veterans end up in a scrape, then so be it. As long as Demitri knew Chana was okay. Besides, what struck Demitri most was the man's upfront attitude. It almost made Demitri think the guy was full of himself.

And if that wasn't enough, the other newcomer gave her own addition to what was said. The woman showed large scars on the sides of her neck, but Demitri was already used to it. He'd seen injuries far worse than that when he attained his medical skills. Sure, a wound like that could prove to be fatal if left untreated, but Demitri wouldn't dare let that happen to Chana. However, Demitri felt a little fazed when the woman repeated what her bondmate just said as if he never said it at all.

Who are these people? Demitri thought to himself. Does she realize he already said that? When Chana asked for permission to speak freely, Demitri was afraid she would let the two have a piece of what was on her mind. And he could tell Chana was not happy. He wanted to ask Chana just what she had in mind, along with directing a few questions to Ewoyn and Caspian, but decided to remain silent for the moment.

At Eowyn’s words Caspian sighed taking a mental victory for challenging the authority of the green undeserving Captain before calming down to fix the relations with the rest of the unit. He sits down rubbing his temples and lets just how tired he is show.

“I’m sorry for seeming so cold, as my wife said it’s a defense mechanism from being in the war so long, and it’s only made worse by my defensive nature. Captain Theban all I meant by wanting to form the riding formation is that as knowledgeable in the Kurians we could use that to our advantage by forming a riding formation to best counter them in case we run into them. As for what we can do ourselves I’m am mostly defensive with only 2 really offensive abilities Enlarge Self and Elemental weapon, my other abilities are Earthen Grasp, Amorphous Form, and Shield Other. Yes I know that’s only 5 abilities and most have 7. I’m not hiding any from you it’s just that Elemental Weapon has so much potential power that I don’t get any more abilities other than those that are no different than what a Natural would have. Strength, endurance, speed, agility, those kinds of things I will let Eowyn tell you her abilities. As for you question Miss. Chana there are only two real ways to let us know your abilities you tell us or we see it in action for ourselves. I would stress that it would be best to verbally tell us rather than needlessly display them because at any moment we may have to run to get to a Kurian, and to use your abilities to display them would put you at a disadvantage of being tired out while we have to run. But I leave that decision up to you, feel free to do what you think would be best.”


Eowyn then stood forward and apologies again, "Again we are sorry for any offense we have called we have seen to much bloodshed...and we haven't had a good nights rest in over a month. As for my abilities I am pretty much only a Support they consist of Detect Magic, Detect Secret Doors, Detect Thoughts, Tongues, True Seeing, Spectral Weapon, and Mass Moderate Healing. Mostly i observe for anything unusual, act as a translator when need be and heal. I am rather good with herbs and and dressing wounds. When i have to fight I use my Rapier to attack the enemies vitals and weak spots using my one combative ability Spectral Weapon to completely by pass an enemies armor when i need to. I look forward to working with you all and hope you can adjust as smoothly as you can to this mission. I know its not the easiest think to adjust to at first, I remember when Caspian and I first received the mission all those years ago with time you will get used to it but have no illusions it will never get any easier."

After speaking Eowyn sat down next to Caspian to let whoever was going to speak next do so.

Takato raised his eyebrows at Caspian's statement regarding him and the woman. He could already tell this guy was going to be a windbag and that expectation was definitely met as he tried to take over the formation. Then, for some reason, his wife repeated the same last line. These people were missing a few screws and arrogant to boot. However, Takato had already irritated Regulus by bringing the woman in, so he tried to bite his tongue. Instead, he just rolled his eyes at the long winded, patronizing speeches and the somehow even more patronizing explanations for the patronizing speeches. Not much ruffled his feathers, but being talked down to was something that got under his skin. "Thanks for the autobiography, I guess," he muttered under his breath so only those sitting next to him could hear him.

Caspian and Eowyn then started explaining their abilities. It took them long enough to get to the important information, as far as Takato was concerned.

Mihael just watched them go on and on. He placed the comb in his hand into Isadore's so he could prop his elbows on the table and rest his chin on his folded hands, intrigued by the whole scene. His unit seemed agitated by it all, but he was less bothered than the others. They seemed like they were trying to help, if nothing else. They just had a really longwinded way of going about it. "You guys have so much to say," he noted in a light tone, making Takato resist the urge to facepalm. He wasn't a sarcastic sort; rather, he just had a tendency to blurt what he was thinking. "But it's nice that you're trying to help." He then turned to Regulus with a questioning gaze, unsure if they were supposed to go ahead and tell the newcomers their abilities now. There seemed to be some friction between them and the rest of the unit.

Isadore listened quietly as the two Kurian experts spoke of the new mission. He had to wonder why it had been kept a secret; training would have been better if they had known what they were training for. He also didn't like that they were more or less taking over the unit, which they apparently considered to be full of amateurs, under the authority of being war veterans and Kurian experts. Regulus was still the captain, as much as Isadore didn't like it. The mission itself didn't bother him too much, however. It sounded difficult, but successfully completing it would probably bring much prestige.

Isadore heard Takato's comment and had to silently agree that the two had given an excessive amount of information. He then suddenly felt something being placed in his hand and looked down to see that it was a comb. Why his brother couldn't just put it in his own pocket was beyond Isadore, but he didn't have much choice now but to keep it, even though he had received several in the same fashion in the past. After pocketing the comb, he glanced at Regulus, deciding to wait and see what the captain had to say before speaking.

Regulus could feel the tension coming from his unit and sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but the attitudes of the two newcomers had made it even worse. Their long speeches and condescending tone made for a confrontational atmosphere, and Regulus had never had to deal with something like this before.

Caspian and Eowyn gave their own capabilities and Regulus listened closely. He didn't really know how much it would help for his group to give their abilities; these two new people didn't know the people themselves as well as he did.

"I hope we can all adjust to this new mission as easily as possible as well," Regulus said. "Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could put more faith in me as your captain. At some point in the near future I would like you tell me about what formations you typically use. Then, I'll make my own decision about what formation we'll use. I've spent enough time with my comrades that I believe I can deploy them to their best potential. As for our abilities, if you don't mind I can do a write up of them and give it to you later."

"I believe this meeting has gone on long enough. If anyone has any questions or concerns, I'll be hanging around. Meeting adjurned."

Chana is immediately relieved as the meeting ends. She sighs outward, standing quickly with a look at her companion before swiftly walking away from the Pavilion and moving as quickly as she can while walking to the wall. She's one of the wall scouts, which is perfectly fine, and she needs to get back to her post.

Krugis was covering for her, as it is. She climbs up the stairs on the inside of the wall, making her way to the top and moving towards the ledge. She walks along the top of the wall slowly, looking for Krugis. She finds him on the western side, looking out and looking bored.

She steps up and he smirks, nodding his head. He's one of the best Natural sentries that they have and about the only person she'll ever allow to cover for herself and her partner.

"You seem so thrilled about whatever you were called away for." He says sarcastically.

"Enlightened, even." Chana replies with a mocking tone, "My unit has two new members."

"Ah, shit, I hate new recruits." He replies.

"These aren't new. They're specialists."

"That's even worse."

"Tell me about it. Anyways. You should get some sleep, we can take over from here."

"Yeah, alright. Hope you have more excitement than I have...the Kurians seem to be off doing better things for now."

Mihael was pleased with how Regulus handled the meeting; his conclusion would probably satisfy everyone. He went over to his partner as soon as the meeting adjourned, giving him a proper hug this time. "I think that went really well!" he said encouragingly. "Except for the part where we were late... sorry about that. Taka was naked in bed with that woman and Isa couldn't make him get up. When he finally did get up, it was eye-searing." That last bit was said in the same tone as the rest. "And of course, my brother just kept combing his hair forever and he made me comb my hair too. I even have the comb... uhh... hmm, where did that go? Anyway, yeah, you did good!"

Takato silently thanked Regulus for ending the meeting; he wasn't the elaborate speech type. Since it seemed they would be hanging around for a while, he tilted his chair back and propped his feet on the table before glancing at Isadore. His expression became one of concern. "Uh, partner... I hate to tell you this, but I think you probably want to know there's something stuck in your teeth-"

Regulus watched Chana take off as soon as he ended the meeting. He knew she was frustrated and it would be good for her to get away. Maybe later after she cooled down he'd go talk to her; he wanted everyone to be on the same page.

Mihael then came over and gave Regulus another hug. He let him do it; it was just something Mihael had to get out of his system.

"Too much information, Mihael..." Regulus said when his bondmate went on about Taka and his woman. "It's okay, I'm not upset at you guys. You just have to realize that when word comes in that we have to move, we won't be waiting around for Isa to get every hair in place."

He looked down at his feet. "You think I did good? I don't know, I'm afraid I didn't assert myself enough and that's why the newcomers tried to push me around..."

Isadore was satisfied with Regulus' conclusion to the meeting, but he sighed when his embarrassment of a brother hugged the captain yet again. He looked away and saw Takato propping his feet up on the table, which grated on his nerves. Before he could say anything, however, his partner told him there was something in his teeth.

"What?" Isadore responded quickly. He then narrowed his eyes. "But I didn't even eat anything. I don't think you're being serious." He looked forward, still for a moment before looking down and beginning to pick at his teeth furtively. Isadore didn't want to be rude, but he couldn't stand the thought that there was something there.