[[Day 17 of Month -4 :: Cathedral]]<br/>“Oh wow..” Georg and Joaquim looked up from their game of chess at Vlad’s unexpected exclamation.  The blond was leaning forward, half out the window.  “How did he do that?”<br/><br/>Natalia also seemed interested in whatever spectacle was going on, craning to look over Vlad’s head.  Interest piqued, the two veterans abandoned their game to walk over to the window.  In the training grounds below, a group of knights were training.  Sparring, to be more accurate.  All of them were in groups and facing off against each other.  Vlad’s attention was focused on one auburn-haired Knight who was holding a shield in front of her defensively.  Three knights went running at her, no doubt trying to overwhelm her with numbers.  A challenging laugh rumbled out from her mouth as she caught the first strike on her shield.  There was a flash of gold and she was sliding through the three attackers, leaving petrified men in her wake.  One tried to move but couldn’t.<br/><br/>“Next time, try to leave a dent!” The shield wielder laughed before all the men slumped, whatever binding them vanishing.  The four fell into easy banter, the shield wielder demonstrating a few more moves.  Natalia was eyeing a fierce looking female with an upturned crescent on her brow.  The jagged sword flashed out and then the woman vanished, reappearing as she sidestepped a spear stabbing at her.  The two Knights fell into sparring.<br/><br/>“Who are they?” Vlad asked aloud, not expecting a response.  Some of them were more impressive than the Knights he’d seen at Abel’s training.<br/><br/>“The veterans,” Georg responded, eyes focused on the auburn-haired Knight.  “They must have re-enlisted.”<br/><br/>“Look, it’s Master Jung,”  An old man, hair more white than colored, walked onto the training field assisted by a cane.  “We should go pay our respects.”  Georg and Joaquim stepped away from the window, Vlad and Natalia hurrying to follow.  “Master Jung?”  Natalia parroted in confusion, “Is he a Seraph too?”<br/><br/>Joaquim looked kindly on his daughter as he shook his head.  “Master Jung is from before the First War.  He defeated a den of Pure Sinners on his own and created most of the training regime we Knights were taught.  He also personally mentored the Divine Flash and Chevalier.  He’s had a hand in developing almost every hero in the First War.”  The group fell silent as they entered the courtyard.  Some training was still going on; others had fallen into discussion, reminiscing of past glories and admiring long forgotten swords.<br/><br/>Dietrich gulped nervously at the sight of the newcomers.  He’d known there was a chance Master Guilford’s squad would be at the Cathedral but he figured with how big the place was, it was unlikely he’d run into them.  Brown eyes traced the familiar figure.  There was a black eye patch covering the right side of his face but the Knight still maintained the kind edge that softened his otherwise stern features.  The past years had added new lines to his face and a few scars but he was otherwise instantly recognizable.  As if feeling the scrutiny, the black Knight started to turn and Dietrich spun around immediately.  He lifted his sword as if examining it.  What did one say when facing one’s savior?<br/><br/>Joaquim glanced over the Knights curiously, wondering why it felt like he was being watched.  A few were in discussion and one, an old lady with frizzy gray hair, was showing off an attack sequence to some approving Knights.  One was facing away, presumably inspecting his Judgment.  Joaquim’s one eye squinted before widening in pleased surprise, “A 1480!”  He walked up to the suddenly flustered Knight, “I haven’t seen one of those since—” now level with the man, Joaquim startled.  He recognized this Knight!  “Dietrich! Dietrich Kloet, right?”  The man looked remarkably similar to how he had a decade ago.<br/><br/>“H-Hello, Joaquim.”  The brunette responded awkwardly.  Joaquim’s pleasure abated at such an uncertain reply.  “It’s good to see you again, and doing well no less.”  One eye scanned the younger man, “I had heard…”<br/><br/>A pained grimace crossed Dietrich’s face, “Uh… yeah.. clearly..” he waved at his body, “not true…”<br/><br/>“I’m glad for that.”  Joaquim confirmed before looking around.  “You re-enlisted?”  There was a nod in response.  “I’m looking forward to working with you again then.  Would you like to have dinner with me and my family later?  It’ll be good to catch up.”<br/><br/>The brown-haired veteran hesitated then nodded wretchedly.  As happy as he was to see Joaquim again, he still felt terribly guilty about the man’s eye.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>“Wait! Excuse me!” The two Knights paused at his shout, turning to check if he was talking about them.  Catching their gazes, he beckoned them closer, confirming they were his targets.  “Excuse me,” he flashed them a polite smile, manners having been drilled into him by both Captain and Councilor Laith.  “If I can speak with you two for a moment?”  Leon indicated they should move to the side of the hallway, out of the flow of traffic.  Once on the sides, the golden blond knight continued.  “May I absolve you two?”<br/><br/>Both men frowned, mostly confused but a touch offended.  “Why?” The right one, the elder, responded first.  “Is there a reason you think we need to be absolved?”<br/><br/>“No, of course not,” Leon responded immediately with a disarming smile.  There was no way he was telling them he’d felt something sinister lingering in their auras.  Hazel eyes darted over the two Knights, catching sight of some unbuffed scratches on their armor.  “You two recently came back from Palaugrim, right?”  The war on that island has settled into a simmer.  After the meeting in Bastille, the Knight Captains’ coordination had improved and the Pristine Knights were now able to mount an effective defense.  While skirmishes and battles were still a fairly regular occurrence, there had thankfully been little loss of life. Under Eulises’s diligent attention, they’d even established a rotation of troops between the three islands.  It wasn’t much but every able-bodied Knight on Palaugrim helped.<br/><br/>“Master Lethe just wants us performing spot checks on returning Knights, just in case!” He kept his voice upbeat, a tip Captain had shared on keeping others from getting offended, “We wouldn’t want…” he trailed off, realizing the rest of his sentence—any accidents to slip by—might appear ominous or accusatory, “Better safe than sorry!”<br/><br/>The two still appeared miffed but nodded in acceptance.  The older Knight held a hand out; Leon placed his hand there and closed his eyes so as to better focus.  He extended his holy magic, probing the other Knight.  Even though he scoured the man from head to toe, he couldn’t catch sight of any trace of the malevolence that he was<span style="text-decoration: underline">sure</span>he’d felt earlier.  After another scan, he let go, unable to keep his bafflement from his face.<br/><br/>“I thought you were going to absolve me?”  The accusatory query reminded him of his excuse and he scrambled for a response: “I didn’t feel any trace of Sin so I didn’t.”  His apologetic look mollified some of the Knight’s suspicion.  “But I’d suggest a visit to the infirmary,” Leon added in a flash of inspiration, “I think I saw something unusual with your hips.  Maybe.. tomorrow would be best?  They’re a bit crowded today.”  That would, he hoped, give him enough time to ask Captain to ask Cora to look them over.  Just to be sure and to maintain appearances, he examined the second knight as well but again found no hints of the ill feeling that had caught his attention in the first place.  With an awkward laugh, he excused himself from the two Knights and retreated.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>The meeting with Lance had gone… exactly as hoped? As feared?  She wasn’t quite sure but it had given certainty, at the very least.  Something Sin-based had happened last night.  They just didn’t know what.  Lethe let the curtain drop and she turned away from the window, forsaking any pretense at watching the Knights training below.  She wasn’t normally a pacer, there hadn’t been enough space in the orphanage to walk aimlessly, but she felt too restless to sit still.  Her thoughts were racing and her body demanded some sort of release for all the extra energy.<br/><br/>What could have happened two nights ago?  If she was a betting person, she’d put money on it having something to do with Eve.  The honey-blond demon had been way too happy the last time they’d fought, laughing even as she retreated.  The memory of that cackle made her pause for a moment before she resumed her pacing.  Given how prideful Eve had been, it was uncharacteristic for her to be happy about losing.  Something had definitely occurred in that fight, but what?  And then Fiona had been captured and tortured.. To get at Guilford?  Eve seemed to especially dislike her other Seraph, but she rather doubted that had to do with whatever had transpired.  Perhaps one of the other demons?  Victorie or Lillith?<br/><br/>The reminder of the brown-haired, shape-changing demon had Lethe throwing her hands down in frustration.<span style="color: turquoise"><span style="font-style: italic">“I spoke the..”</span></span>That wasn’t important.  What was important was the last time they’d been scheming had almost ended in Palaugrim’s destruction.  Her hands formed fists at the reminder of how close they’d been.  One could almost say they’d been<span style="font-style: italic">lucky</span>that only parts of Palaugrim had fallen off given how much of the seal network had been destroyed but.. The white-haired Knight pivoted sharply, stomping her way back around the table she’d been circling.<br/><br/>But that wasn’t good enough.  She should have known.  She should have realized.  What had happened to Palaugrim was her fault.  And she needed to make sure it didn’t happen again.  When blue eyes looked up once more, they were filled with chilly resolution.  Now what had happened two nights ago?  What could have happened?  Something to do with Sin and the divine realm.  Something to do with Eve..<br/><br/>She was circling the table for the n-th time when the door opened, forcing her to pause.  Leon paused as well at the unusual sight of Lethe standing by Adair’s chair, one hand gripping its top.  He craned his neck to look further inside but couldn’t spot anyone she might have been speaking with.  “Uh.. now a bad time?”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“No, come in,”</span>Lethe immediately shook her head and motioned at the sofas, taking a seat at one.<span style="color: silver">“What can I help you with?”</span><br/><br/>Leon laughed awkwardly at her immediate (correct) assessment.  How to explain this… “Uhm.. could you ask Lady Cora to look over two Knights for me?”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Cora specifically?”</span>Lethe clarified, wondering why her Knight wanted the supposedly best cleric to check up on two Knights.<br/><br/>“Or.. Valiar works too.”  Leon offered, just realizing he was asking his Captain to somehow clear up the famous medic’s schedule at the drop of a hat.  He trusted his teammate’s skill as a cleric to be just as good for his needs.<br/><br/>Valiar was currently on assignment in Lindela in search of those Reapers with Adair so he was out of the question.  More importantly though,<span style="color: silver">“Why?  And who are these two Knights?”</span><br/><br/>At the question, Leon finally realized he had no idea who those two Knights were!  He’d been so caught up in his confusion about not feeling anything unusual he had never asked their names!  “Well, one’s about this tall, built stocky like Valiar, has brown hair…”<br/><br/>Lethe interrupted Leon’s rambling description as it became apparent the younger Knight had no idea who his two patients were.  She’d considered that maybe the two mystery Knights were some of his old friends but that didn’t seem to be the case.<span style="color: silver">“Leon, <span style="text-decoration: underline">why</span> am I asking Cora to specifically look over these two Knights whose names you don’t even know?”</span><br/><br/>The newest member of Squad Ten blushed at the reprimand.  “Well… I’d just like a second opinion…” Seeing she was still waiting for more, he confessed, “there’s been this weird… feeling I’ve been feeling the past few days.  Like something oily or sinister.. I don’t know what it is, but it’s been appearing and disappearing randomly throughout the days.  I was walking through the Cathedral today when I felt it again.  I’m pretty sure it came from these two but… I don’t know,” he finished miserably.  “I scanned them and found zero traces of Sin.  Cora and Valiar are better at scanning human bodies than I am,” diagnostic spells were a staple for medics, “so I thought maybe they’d see something I missed.”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Something.. oily? Or sinister?”</span>Captain repeated and only then did Leon realize how stupid it sounded.  He nodded his head mutely, too ashamed to reply verbally.<span style="color: silver"> “When did you first feel this?”</span><br/><br/>“Uh.. almost a week ago now?”<br/><br/>Lethe sagged, unsure if the emotion coursing through her was relief or disappointment.  Whatever Leon was feeling probably wasn’t related to what had happened two nights ago.  It meant no further insight on whatever occurred and the possibility of something else at play.  Probably disappointment, then.<span style="color: silver"> “Very well.  I’ll ask Cora if she can spare any time for your two Knights.  Write down their descriptions for her.”</span><br/><br/>Leon looked up from his embarrassed examination of the rug in surprise.  She… believed him?  Seeing his shock, Lethe smiled in fond exasperation,<span style="color: silver">“Leon, you’re one of the best sensors in the PK Corps, especially now that Lady Ethera tutored you.  If you say something seems unusual..”</span>She shrugged her shoulders as she got to her feet, reinvigorated by having an achievable goal,<span style="color: silver"> “It never hurts to check.  I trust you can manage this?  Or would you like me to oversee whatever this is?”</span><br/><br/>“No, captain, I can do this.”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Good,”</span>Her proud smile said everything else,<span style="color: silver"> “Now, do you want something to drink as you write? Water? Soda?”</span><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>“HECK YEAH!!” The roar of triumph was punctuated by the sound of wood cracking and something falling to the ground.  Victorious purple eyes gleamed under plastered pink bangs and then Seraphim dropped out of her pose, instead opting to jump up and down.  “Woohoo! Heck yeaaahhh!!”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “Something good happened?”</span>Lethe inquired from the door, receiving a smirk from Deimos.  The pale blond nodded at the broken training dummy that Seraphim had finally defeated.  He’d finally cut his in half a day ago and had been working on getting faster.  He could see how it would work well with his combat style and adding in his clones.. It definitely had potential if he could master it.<span style="color: silver"> “Congratulations!”</span>Lethe cheered, lifting her hands up for high fives.  Her shout caught Seraphim’s attention and the other woman bounced over, slapping her palms against Lethe’s.<br/><br/>“Yeaah!!” She whooped again before finally settling down a bit.  “Thanks Lethe!  What brings you here?”  She drew the younger woman into a side-arm hug, tugging her further into the room.<span style="color: silver">“Just checking on how things are going with you two.”</span>Lethe answered with a smile, Seraphim’s joy infectious.<span style="color: silver"> “I see you’ve finally gotten yours to work.  And Deimos?”</span>She glanced over at their silent shadow and he just nodded, earning himself an outstretched hand.  With an amused huff of air, he slapped the hand in a not-so-high five, accepting Lethe’s congratulations.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Good job both of you!  May I see?”</span>Seraphim released Lethe, coming to a stop in front of one of the training dummies.  She closed her eyes, centered herself, and punched outwards.  Even with her eyes closed, she could feel her divine magic traversing the space between her and the target.  It swept past the wooden facsimilie, rendering it into nothing more than splinters.  She transferred the damage back here and heard with satisfaction the sound of the wooden dummy exploding.  Beside her, she could hear the slashes of Deimos’s sword as he struck through the air and then the<span style="font-style: italic">thump</span>as various chunks of the training dummy fell to the ground, carved into pieces.<br/><br/>She opened her eyes, confirming what she’d heard, and then spun to face Lethe with a self-satisfied smirk.<span style="color: silver">“<span style="font-style: italic">Very</span> good,”</span>The white-haired Knight restated.  She lifted a hand again, but this time Luna appeared in it.<span style="color: silver">“Shall we see how good?”</span><br/><br/>Seraphim glanced over at Deimos.  Yellow eyes met hers challengingly; she’d be getting no help from there.  Lethe may have meant for a two versus one, but Seraphim had a feeling this would go more along the lines of a free for all.  “Oh Lethe..” she sighed, secretly gathering divine magic in her fist, “you’re so going down!”<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>“Knock Knock.”<br/><br/>Deimos was too reticent to boast, perhaps the only reason their ears weren’t ringing with taunts right now.  It didn’t, however, stop him from smirking at them superiorly.  He’d gotten the drop on them while they’d been focused on each other by using his clones to tag them simultaneously.  Normally Lethe would have been more gracious in her defeat but she remembered what had happened the last time this scenario had played out…<br/><br/>With a sigh, the white-haired Knight conceded to the penalty for losing against her rear guard,<span style="color: silver">“Who’s there?”</span><br/><br/>“Orange.”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “Orange who?”</span>She asked in a long suffering tone, resigning herself to rounds of knock knock jokes.<br/><br/>“Orange you glad this isn’t another Knock Knock joke?”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“YES!”</span>The exclamation of barely concealed relief confirmed Deimos’s suspicion that interrupting cows or dimes or nobels may have very well gotten him a Luna in the stomach.  (He also doubted Seraphim would have helped him much if that had been the case.)  Instead, he just crinkled his eyes in amusement and then headed towards the training dummy to start tidying up.  Lethe, and later Seraphim, trailed after him.  When the room was in order once more, he turned towards the shortest Knight for his next orders.<br/><br/>It appeared that Lethe had regained her composure during the cleaning as she no longer looked ready to murder someone (him).<span style="color: silver">“Seraphim, I’m giving you leave to spend another day here.  I think you’re still being a bit wasteful with your divine magic and it would be good to see how it interacts with your aura.”</span>She nodded towards Deimos, acknowledging his success with incorporating the dimensional blade with his Light’s Blessing clones.<span style="color: silver">“Deimos, rendezvous with Cricket please.  See if he needs help with his divine magic.  Also, please see how his hunting’s coming along.  Tomorrow, I want you over by supplies to see if we can improve any of our efficiencies.  I’d like to avoid rationing just yet, but this war is just starting.”</span>Unspoken was the acknowledgment that she had no idea when it would end.  Her blond squadmate was a miracle worker at making the impossible occur, she’d feel better getting his personal report on the situation.<br/><br/>Deimos nodded in acknowledgment, waiting for Lethe to finish.  After giving their last squadmate a few more pointers, she turned to leave.  The rear guard of squad ten fell into step beside her, as usual scanning the area around them.  The journey was silent until they passed the corridor that led towards their squad quarters.  When they passed the hallways towards the Council Room and the prayer rooms, Deimos paused in surveying their surroundings, shooting a look towards the Knight walking beside him.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“The infirmary,”</span>Lethe responded blandly, adding on in response to the unspoken query,<span style="color: silver">“I need to ask Cora a favor on Leon’s behalf.”</span>The blond Knight frowned, curious as to what that favor might be.<span style="color: silver">“Also, if you feel anything suspicious within the Cathedral, please inform me or Leon immediately.”</span>Lethe said nothing more, despite the curiosity she could read in Deimos’s demeanor.  He tapped a knuckle against her head as he left, warning her next time she lost, the Knock Knock jokes would not end so quickly after baiting him like this.  With a snort of amusement, Lethe shot a withering look in his direction: who said she was losing next time?<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/><span style="color: silver">“Excuse me,”</span>A polite knock accompanied the call and Cora looked up from the medical file she was reading.  Normally she didn’t have time to read about her patients ahead of time; her work during the First War had always been more “first responder” type.  Now, however, things weren’t that dire yet.  There was still time to properly allocate treatment depending on skill level and she always got the most complicated ones.  It was an acknowledgment of her skill, however, so she wasn’t terribly bothered by it.  It was almost nice, having the time to determine what healing approach she wanted to take for the operation.<br/><br/>“Yes? Come in!  How may I help.. you?”  Her smile faltered at the sight of her guest.  Master Lethe—what could the Seraph want with her?  She’d already met the Seraph’s personal cleric.  Valiar was a jovial and skilled medic; he wasn’t the best that she’d ever seen but certainly talented, enough so that Cora found it unusual that the female Seraph would need her help over her cleric’s.  As if sensing her confusion, the woman responded,<span style="color: silver"> “I apologize for bothering you; may I ask for some of your time?”</span><br/><br/>“Certainly, come in.  Let me just tidy this up a bit.”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Please, you don’t have to on my behalf,”</span>Her guest protested even as she stepped in, but Cora ignored her.  She wanted the time to gather her thoughts.  So… Coffee-colored eyes glanced towards the Knight perched demurely on one of her patient seats.<span style="font-style: italic">This</span>was Lethe Urilla.  She’d heard about the female Seraph, of course, but she’d never really met the other woman.  The White Seraph looked.. A scowl crossed her face before she smoothed it away, her back hiding the expression from sight.  No wonder Natalia had been so depressed; even just sitting on a stool, the woman look dignified!  Said woman was looking around the room inquisitively and Cora wanted to be annoyed—she hated people snooping in her office!—but it was impossible.  There was no judgment in the other woman’s blue gaze.<br/><br/>“So, what can I help you with?”  Cora asked as she turned around with her ‘doctor smile.’  She took her seat once more, holding a pen over her notepad in preparation for any notes.<br/><br/>The Seraph returned her smile before a look of concentration crossed her face, clearly trying to decide how to voice her request.<span style="color: silver">“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d appreciate it if you could scan two Knights for me.”</span><br/><br/>“Scan..?” The brunette prompted, wondering at the unusual request.  Every medic knew how to perform a diagnostic spell.  She most certainly didn’t need to be performing diagnostics.<br/><br/>As if hearing her disbelief, the white-haired Knight smiled apologetically.<span style="color: silver">“I’m sorry; I don’t want to say anything to influence your results.  But it would really mean a lot to me if you could review these two Knights yourself.  Valiar, my cleric,”</span>She added, as if just remembering not everyone might know her squad by name,<span style="color: silver">“is busy with tracking down some Reaper sightings in Lindela so I can’t depend on him for this matter.”</span><br/><br/>Cora said nothing in response, just analyzing the woman sitting before her.  For the Seraph to specially come and request her to run such a simple spell as a diagnostic!  She wanted to say no.  She had enough to do without doing such basic tasks as scans.  But, Cora admitted guiltily, that was just being ungracious.  She had just been luxuriating in the fact she had time to review patient files; she definitely had the time to run a scan or two.  Besides, she looked sideways, feeling chastised by her own conscience, if<span style="font-style: italic">Gil</span>had come and made the request.. but Gil was her friend!  Gil was different!  Cora glanced back at the white-haired woman in front of her who was waiting patiently for a reply.  Gil also liked Lethe and as his friend, the least she could do was help out the women he’d given his heart to.  “Alright..” She really hoped her reply hadn’t sounded as grudging as it did in her ears.<br/><br/>If it had, her visitor made no mention of it.<span style="color: silver">“Thank you very much, Lady Cora.”</span>The Seraph pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it, revealing two paragraphs of text.<span style="color: silver">“I’m afraid my squadmate Leon wasn’t able to get names for the two Knights we want you to review, but he’s written their descriptions down for you.  He suggested they come visit you tomorrow for a lingering hip issue and a lung issue.  He’s written down the excuses he gave to them to help you distinguish them.”</span><br/><br/>The ‘dove’ of the Crests accepted the piece of paper a bit skeptically.  Master Lethe wanted her to heal two Knights she didn’t even know the names of..  Cora glanced up just to check if this was a prank of some sort, but Master Lethe looked as unruffled as ever.  “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”  She replied with a polite smile.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “Again, thank you very much.”</span>Her visitor got to her feet,<span style="color: silver">“Just send a messenger when you’re done; Leon can take your results verbally if that will make it easier for you.”</span>With a nod farewell and a<span style="color: silver"> “May the Divine Light bless you and keep you safe,”</span>the cause of Natalia’s sorrow and Gil’s pining walked out the door.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>[[Day 17 of Month -4, Night :: Gless]]<br/><br/>“Wow! So you fought in the First War like my dad?” Bright brown eyes shined up eagerly even as Jessiah shoved another spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.  The dinner tonight was pot roast, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables, all lovingly prepared by the restaurant down the street.  Bianca was skilled in many things but cooking, unfortunately, was not one of them.  The Joaquim family had all gotten used to bland food except when guests came over; there was no way Bianca was serving her mediocre cooking to strangers, especially not one of her husband’s old war buddies!<br/><br/>Dietrich nodded nervously and took a bite of his pot roast, more to avoid talking than a great attachment for the meal.  “That’s so cool!”  Joaquim and Bianca had long ago drilled into their son’s head that ‘how was it?’ was not an appropriate question to ask about the First War so he skipped to, “And you’re signing up again now?”<br/><br/>“Yes,” The brown-haired veteran replied with his uneasy smile, before adding “It seemed.. appropriate to rejoin now,” as he realized how rude his short answers were making him seen.  It wasn’t that he was ungrateful to be here; he was truly thankful to the Divine Light that Joaquim was still so open with him even after… what had happened.  He tried not to look at his host’s missing eye but ended up catching reflection of it anyways.<br/><br/>“I want to be a Knight when I grow up!”  Jessiah continued enthusiastically, seemingly not hearing the stilted tone of Dietrich’s reply.  “I’m going to be a hero like Master Guilford and Hyuga and my dad!  And I’ll travel the world and save damsels in distress and redeem Sinners and there will be lots and lots of books about me!”  He grinned toothily, “and I’ll write about all my travels too, of course!  Everyone will know the name of Knight Jessiah!”<br/><br/>“It sounds like you have big aspirations.” Dietrich replied with a small smile.  He could tell Jessiah about how scary it was to be a Knight, to face Sinners and Pure Sinners, to get hit and hit others, to be fighting for your life, but he didn’t want to spoil the kid’s dreams.  Jessiah was only eleven; he still had a few years until he was eligible for the PKA and the brown-haired veteran was sure Joaquim would teach Jessiah the realities of being a Knight before letting his son join the Academy.  “That’s good.  What else will Knight Jessiah do?”<br/><br/>The rest of dinner was filled with the young boy explaining his exploits to the amused adults.  Finally, Bianca declared it was time for Jessiah to finish his homework and she shooed him away, leaving Joaquim and Dietrich alone with a knowing wink.<br/><br/>Suddenly filled in silence, Disetrich stared miserably into his coffee, wondering what there was to say.  “Well,” Joaquim finally spoke up, “Thank you for joining me for dinner.”  A sad smile crossed his face, clearly cognizant of how reluctant his guest was to be here.  “It was nice to see you again.  Do you have somewhere you need to be?”<br/><br/>Brown eyes glanced upwards before darting back down; his cheeks and neck turned red in embarrassment as he realized just how obvious his discomfort had been.  “Uhm.. yes. That is, I have somewhere to go, yes.”  However, he made no move to leave so Joaquim stayed in his seat as well.  One kind brown eye examined his uncomfortable guest.  He’d known Dietrich during the First War; their squad had been stationed at the same outpost: a group of newbies and a group of more experienced men to balance them out.  He’d thought they had a good working relationship but perhaps he’d remembered wrongly.  “I..”  Finally, Dietrich looked him firmly in the eye, apparently having gathered his resolve: “I want to thank you very much for saving my life that day.  I’m very, very sorry about..” The younger veteran’s gaze wandered to his eyepatch and Joaquim felt a sense of weariness as he realized what had caused his old friend so much anguish. “About your eye,” Dietrich continued determinedly, “And I hope I can some day make up for it.”  He bowed his head until his forehead touched the table.<br/><br/>There was a long sigh from the other side of the table.  “Dietrich.<span style="font-weight: bold">Dietrich</span>.”  The voice commanded him to look up so he reluctantly did so.  “There’s no reason to feel like that.  Your life and your squad’s lives was certainly worth this small price.”  Joaquim motioned towards the eye patch, “I just hope you haven’t been carrying the burden since that day twelve years ago.  There is no reason to feel obligation.”<br/><br/>“But—!”  Joaquin cut off Dietrich’s instinctive protest with a shake of his head.  “No, Dietrich.  It’s my eye; I can determine its worth.”  The older man joked, “And being able to see you again, alive, healthy is more than worth it.  Knowing that we’ll fight alongside each other again is more than enough repayment.”<br/><br/>And then, proving just how skilled a wife she was, Bianca re-appeared with a cheerful greeting.  “Dessert time!”  She lifted a plate of cut fruit and placed it on the table before either man could get embarrassed about the previous conversation.  She took a seat next to Joaquim and snagged a slice of apple.  “So, Dietrich, what have you been up to these past years?”<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>[[Day 18 of Month -4 :: Cathedral]]<br/><br/>Omi sighed deeply as he leaned backwards to stretch out the kinks in his back.  He enjoyed his job (really!) but there were times where sitting still pouring over manuscripts could get a bit exhausting.  He rubbed his eyes, trying to soothe the strain in them.  This job would have undoubtedly gotten him into glasses if he hadn’t learned some healing from his aunt.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“You should be a cleric!”</span>His aunt’s nagging echoed in his ears at the memory of her,<span style="font-style: italic">“you’re definitely skilled enough!”</span>The reminder was enough to make his hands drop away.  He could have been a cleric.  But.. Purple eyes stared wearily at the manuscript in front of him as he stopped himself of following that train of thought.  Nothing good came from dwelling there.  He was a good Scribe; a<span style="font-style: italic">great</span>Scribe, if he said so himself.  He should be happy with that.<br/><br/>He was massaging his neck when the shuffling of papers caught his attention.  Who would be down here?  Few came this way; he was only here to satisfy a personal curiosity.  Access to all the archives was one of the perks from being a good Scribe.  He silently got to his feet and walked towards the intruder.  Delroy was looking at some files, shuffling through one then putting it back.  The other Scribe seemed to be getting frustrated with how loudly he was flipping through the pages.  Clearly Delroy wasn’t used to avoiding overzealous librarians.  That or he wasn’t expecting anyone to be here.  Sloppy.  Finally, Delroy seemed to find what he was looking for.  He replaced the files he pulled out and then, with a cautious look around him, slipped one under his jacket.<br/><br/>Lights, Delroy was<span style="font-style: italic">terrible</span>at sneaking files out… It was so incompetent, Omi questioned if he really wanted to follow up on the issue.  Surely no one would ask<span style="font-style: italic">Delroy</span>to steal any files.. Or maybe that was the ruse.  Delroy was so bad, people would overlook his clumsy attempts?  Omi memorized the shelf number of the file Delroy had pilfered the file from and then stalked the other Scribe out the door.  As suspected, Delroy didn’t register the mysterious file in the log book.<br/><br/>The other Scribe at least had the sense to not run down the hallways.  However, he was definitely walking faster than normal so the redhead had to lengthen his stride to catch up without drawing attention to him or his prey.  They were passing an alcove when Omi reached out, grabbing Delroy and dragging him into the hiding spot.<br/><br/>"Wh-what are you doing?!" Delroy shoved him away, face a mask of worry and bluster. The other Scribe at least had the sense to keep his voice low.<br/><br/>"What are you doing?" Omi countered, stepping closer so Delroy couldn't escape. Purple eyes slanted towards the hand hiding in the man's robes. "What's that under your jacket?"<br/><br/>Wide eyes flickered away before catching his face. "Ja-jacket? Th-there's noth-nothing." Delroy seemed to muster his courage, practically puffing up with his perceived importance. His next words were filled with confidence. "It's none of your business."<br/><br/>"It's my business if people are taking records out of the Archives without signing them out. You know that's against the rules." The redhead leaned forward, seemingly looming over the other man despite being younger. "It's a trouble to all of us Scribes if records randomly go missing. Now. What are those documents?"<br/><br/>Delroy snapped his reply: "I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to shove past Omi but the younger man reached a hand out, catching the other Scribe's arm to hold him still. Papers slipped to the ground, clearly typed reports of some sort. There was a moment of shocked surprise before both men pounced for them, Delroy trying to hide them and Omi trying to figure out what they were.<br/><br/>The sound of purposeful steps made both of them pause.<span style="color: #0080FF">"You two should stop. I could hear you from a mile away."</span><br/><br/>At the unexpected interjection, both Scribes paused and then scrambled to their feet, papers a disarray in their hands, once they recognized the voice.<br/><br/>“Ma-Master Guilford!”  Both voices exclaimed in surprise.  Delroy was subtly trying to straighten the papers in his hand.  Omi was looking at the Seraph curiously.  Why was Master Guilford here?<br/><br/>The Seraph crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the two disapprovingly.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Just so you both know, I like to read <span style="font-style: italic">my</span> documents in good condition."</span><br/><br/>"Ma-Master Guilford, I-I was on my w-way to your quarters with your re-requested documents but Omi here..." Delroy scrambled for words, trying to make sense of the pages he had on hand, as well as the ones missing which were in Omi's hands.  His face felt flushed in a mix of embarrassment and anger.<br/><br/>The red-haired Scribe was more interested in the tidbit Master Guilford had just shared.  These files were for him..?  That.. put an interesting spin on things.  Omi looked down and ostensibly tried to sort the papers in his hands, as if responding to the Seraph’s reprimand. It also gave him a good opportunity to snoop as he meticulously ordered the pages by their page numbers. Team Abel? Before the Rising? He handed the papers over to Master Guilford, purple eyes catching sight of the report title: Team Seven, Captain Abel? His curiosity faltered under the weight of a stern stare. When he looked up, Master Guilford was scrutinizing him.<br/><br/>The purple-haired man held a hand out and Omi immediately rescinded the report, keeping his face studiously neutral.  There was no pretending he was innocent; he hadn’t been<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>discreet.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Thank you for your help, Delroy.”</span>Master Guilford praised, clearly dismissing the other Scribe.  The older Scribe gave Omi an annoyed look but retreated, leaving just him and the Seraph.  Master Guilford said nothing; he just stood there staring.  After what felt like an eternity, the man finally spoke up:<span style="color: #0080FF">"Omi, now you have two things to keep to yourself.  I trust you understand the weight of my words."</span>Omi nodded.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Carry on then."</span><br/><br/>Omi nodded once more and then walked away, headed back towards the Archives. Team Abel before the Island Rising hm? He doubted Master Guilford was searching for information about himself. Master Lethe, perhaps? Or other members? Well, his lips twisted in a mischievous smirk, he didn’t call himself a<span style="font-style: italic">great</span>Scribe for nothing.