"Adair..."<br/>Green eyes slid in the speaker's direction irritably.  He knew what the other Knight wanted to say and he didn't want to hear it.<br/>"I don't think we should leave Lethe alone like this."<br/><br/>"I agree. And what should I do about it?" Adair asked pleasantly, " Shall I, in all my authority as Vice Captain of Squad Lethe, order our captain to let us stay?"<br/><br/>Seraphim clicked her tongue irritably but said nothing more.<br/><br/>"Hey now.. I know none of us are happy, but you guys need to lighten up." Valiar ignored the two glares now levelled on him with an easy smile. "You heard the captain.  She wants us to keep Master Guilford’s team out of her way for the rest of tonight.  No one’s going to believe that BS excuse about going to sleep at 4pm with you two scowling like that.”  To be honest, no one would believe that half the team had gotten exhausted on a Wyervia flight and a few hours of walking but that was neither here nor there.  “So chins up and smiles on.  Time to keep Team Prissy happy.  Or what do you think will happen if they happen to disrupt her in the middle of a purification?”<br/><br/>This time there were two sounds of irritation but both younger Knights did as bade.  Valiar glanced at the last member of their unmerry band but he looked as neutral as ever.  In some ways, Deimos was the luckiest of them all.  He had quickly established his image as a reserved, emotionless man and was saved from having to plaster smiles on like everyone else.  The group continued their way back into the town center.  It appeared some sort of feast was being prepared in honor of Master Guilford and his squad’s (oh yeah, and Master Lethe’s and her squad’s) presences.  They chatted with the townsfolk but were then herded into the Great Hall as the feast was beginning.<br/><br/>“Captain?  I’m afraid she got overeager about being in Palaugrim and wore herself out.”  Adair replied pleasantly to his fellow Vice Captain’s inquiry, shaking his head in dismay at his Captain’s actions.  “It’s been a long time since she’s been on Palaugrim; you’d think she was leaving tonight and not in two weeks.  But it looks like everyone’s taking it easy.”  He turned his gaze to the scene in front of him.  “Everyone’s certainly a lively bunch here.  This is such a nice town; I heard you and your squad had a part in liberating it from Sin?  All the townspeople seemed to happy to see Master Guilford!”  Another smile and Brynhildr was regaling him with the tale of how they had saved this town, highlighting Guilford’s role in the action.  It was so easy to get Brynhildr distracted; all he had to do was mention Guilford and she’d carry the conversation herself.<br/><br/>Soon, the topic of their conversation walked in.  It was no surprise to Adair that the other Knight inquired after Lethe’s presence, or more specifically, her lack thereof.  He and Valiar gave the same excuse as before.  Of course the purple-haired Seraph was not as easily placated.  Brynhildr had probably been secretly overjoyed that she didn’t have to compete with his Captain for Guilford’s attention and was happy to accept the excuse.  Since Master Guilford wanted to see their Captain though...  Adair threw out a tidbit about how Lethe had been getting restless on Lindela and had been so very happy for an excuse to be doing more active work.  While true, he let the others draw the conclusion that her restlessness had overtired her today.  He hoped that would be enough to assuage the other Knight but made a note to keep a close eye in case Guilford slipped out.  Lethe had her reasons for keeping the man ignorant; it was his duty as Vice Captain to do as she bid.<br/><br/>The crashing of doors on wall captured his wandering attention.  A young man with dark red hair was striding down the hall, dressed in light leather armor.  In his hand he held a<span style="font-style: italic">Judgment</span>?  Green eyes narrowed at the sight of the weapon.  Trainees weren’t allowed to leave the cadet program with holy steel swords.  While there was the possibility that it was a heirloom, the design appeared too new to be passed down from before the War.  It was a little known fact that every year’s<span style="font-style: italic">Judgments</span>had minor differences so the trained could immediately know the year the sword had been crafted.  That was a model from five years ago.  At the conversation between the two, Adair felt his thoughts whirling.  Giving a Judgment to a non-Knight, it went against what the High Council had decreed. His brothers would both be interested in this tidbit.  They’d also be interested in knowing the Seraph was taking part in needless fighting.  Maybe Master Guilford was not as pure as they had been led to believe?  (Then again, the Council’s portrayal of Lethe was inhumanly clean as well.)<br/><br/>Everyone trooped out to watch the fight, but this time Brynhildr didn’t abandon them.  He considered asking to stay behind, just to watch his fellow Vice Captain’s response, but knew there was no good excuse to not watch the match.  With another smile, he offered his arm and escorted the now-blushing Brynhildr out of the room.  He could hear Seraphim and Valiar snickering behind him but said nothing.<br/><br/>He left the blue-haired Knight at the edge of the ring and then melted back into the crowd to find his squadmates standing in a group of their own.  They were analyzing the match, focused mostly on the Seraph’s movements.  His own gaze was focused on the young man though.  What would one of Master Guilford’s students be like?  The answer was apparently “disappointing.”  The only interesting part had been when Guilford had to pull out his sword.<br/><br/>“That’s a fancy sword.”  Valiar whistled, impressed.  “That’s because you haven’t seen Captain’s new sword.”  Seraphim countered with a smirk.  Of the four people here, only Valiar didn’t know what Lethe’s sword looked like.  They ignored the puppy dog eyes (“that works for your daughter, not you!”) and followed the crowd back into the Hall.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>Deimos was missing.  Adair scanned the room but couldn’t find his third subordinate.  The little sneak!  His smile was actually genuine for once this evening at the thought, though he pretended to laugh in time with the crowd around him.  No wonder the rear guard hadn’t protested more when Lethe had ordered them out.  The quiet Knight had always been planning to sneak out during the festivals and go back.  Unlike the other three, whose presence would eventually be noticed, Deimos had the anonymity to slip around unseen.  Adair shook his head in amusement, and some envy that the other Knight could check up on the squad when he couldn’t, but rolled up his sleeve to oblige Joaquim in an arm wrestle.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>A townsman with familiar yellow eyes bumped into him and stumbled to the ground.  Adair reached out to help pull the man up.  After making sure the other man wasn’t hurt (if anything, he looked embarrassed for having collided into the Pristine Knight), the sandy-haired man continued on his way.  Quarter before dawn at the house.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>Adair swept his gaze around the room as Brynhildr slipped past him.  Guilford was still moping at his seat.  Really, was the man that upset Lethe had ditched him?  He took a slow sip from his mug to give himself more time to observe the room.  Joaquim and Georg had switched to arm wrestling whoever challenged them while Vlad kept track of the score.  The blonde was showing off tricks to the kids.  Seraphim was whirling around on the ground, pink hair streaming about her.  The slight glaze to her eyes betrayed her inattention; like him and Valiar, she was probably counting down the hours till dawn.  Valiar was laughing with another group of townspeople, seemingly enjoying himself.  The eldest Knight of their squad had the special ability to get along well with the ‘common folk’ no matter where he went.  His eyes drifted back to the Seraph and the other Vice Captain in time to see the the former stand up.  That wasn’t good.<br/><br/>He stood up to try to intercept the other Knight but wasn’t able to make it in time.  When he turned back, he saw Brynhildr<span style="font-style: italic">staring</span>at her squad.  He knew that look; he’d certainly used it often enough.  In fact… He stared down his own squad, gathering their attention as well.  They convened faster than Guilford’s squad though Brynhildr had started first.  He only had two members after all while she had to gather all seven.<br/><br/>“What’s up?”  A nod at Hyuga sneaking out the backdoor told his comrades all they needed to know.  “I can try to distract Alfrei before he leaves..”<br/>“Nah, think how quickly we got here.  If Bryn’s been staring at them too, you could strip and he’d--maybe we should make Adair strip instead.  Pretty boys like pretty boys, right?”<br/>Two elbows dug into Valiar’s stomach and the man grunted.<br/>“You two get out of here and keep out of sight.  Maybe we can get him to look for all of us before he searches for Lethe.  Stay as far away from their position as possible.”  Valiar and Seraphim nodded and left.<br/><br/>Adair sighed and glanced out the door.  Team Prissy was running after Master Guilford now.  If he followed, it’d be a clear sign that something was afoot.  He’d have to (Light forbid) trust that barrier to keep Lethe hidden for now.  If he couldn’t keep Master Guilford from searching for her, at least he could make sure it took near forever.  With a smile on his face, Adair slipped into the hallways.  Time to get lost in this building.