"Badge of Valor my ass! Is this suppose to make everything alright?!" Hyuga roared in fury. "The nerve of those geezers to make a publicity stunt out of all that! I can't stand it!" he continued.<br/><br/>His words have little to no effect on his fellow squad mates inside their squad quarters. He only received a hand from Natalia falling to one of his shoulders followed by a head shake. Guilford and all of them had already thrown away the badges. None of them had the tolerance to keep it pinned on themselves after what they had been through. Such a meaningless act only served to fuel the already stirring emotions they all kept in check with great difficulty.<br/><br/>Guilford for one took every bit of calm he had to keep himself from ripping off the badge and burning it in his hand right in front of the public. The normally calm and composed Seraph was stiff, tense, and irritable. The rest of those who had been with him longer all knew it was best to keep a quiet air around him when he's like this. He hasn't given out a single order as a Seraph for one week now. Though he was sitting in front of his desk, the now nineteen day's worth of paperwork remained untouched. He was not in the mood to do anything, even the duties he was bound to. Right now, he welcomed the 'just another man' feeling with open arms. Hours ticked by until it was about time for the sun to set.<br/><br/>"Brooding isn't going to help." Georg finally mustered enough strength to break the eery silence.<br/><br/>"I agree. We should do what we can, when we can." Joaquim followed.<br/><br/>"But that's the problem. What can we do? Palaugrim's still a mess, there are still a lot of people who does not welcome the Light, and revolt is still rampant in the towns closest to Luciano. Then there's the threat of that...woman. I don't understand why we have to keep it from the High Council though." Vlad rebuked.<br/><br/>"If I were to make a guess," Alfrei who they haven't heard in days finally spoke. "that is exactly the reason why the High Council wants to ship us back out there on a goodwill propaganda, to ease the tensions and hasten Palaugrim's complete control." he paused and looked out the window, observing the crowd who gathered in the courtyard that was slowly returning to their lives. "I don't really believe anyone of us has the desire to get back out there. Not after what happened. All we can do now is recover..." he trailed back to silence. His words hit spot on, though it was indirectly meant for their pensive Captain in his seat.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"All of you, go home. As I've said, you're welcome to stay in my house if you want. For now, let's just take a break."</span><br/><br/>A little surprised at the order but nobody had the nerve to complain. That was the first Captainly thing he said in a week. The male knights of his squad looked at their Captain's back, they wanted to say something to ease his worries but neither one of them had a clear insight to what might happen next. Their words, if not chosen carefully, might do more harm than the good intended. They all prepared to leave the squad quarters and soon filed out one by one, leaving only Natalia and Guilford in the room.<br/><br/>"Captain." she whispered. worry-filled ruby eyes glancing over Guilford's form. "Will you be okay?"<br/><br/>Guilford sank his face to both palms. Will he be okay? That was a question honestly even he could not answer. There was a lot on his mind. Lethe, will she be alright? This was his greatest concern. Then there's Palaugrim's people, the future, that mysterious woman, the High Council's intentions, what he wanted to happen for Palaugrim, how would he accomplish that? Now that he was not acting like a Seraph, the weight of it all came crashing down on him that it was becoming hard to breathe.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"I don't know Nat...I don't know..."</span><br/><br/>The words of her Captain hurt her more than she thought they would. Natalia recalled the time she was saved by this man. After her Advocate brother Fillo died, the Light in her faded. She became a drifter, living through scraps of others and the help of anyone with a kind heart. Those were rough times, people with a kind heart were still rare back in Lindela. The Pristine Knights were active in the effort to organize the second island during those times but she was thankful it had been that way, otherwise she never would have met Guilford. The image of him that time was seared in her memories, strong, dependable, kind...and warm.<br/><br/>It was raining that night, she was drenched and shivering, she hadn't eaten for days she lost count of. In her effort to find a shelter from the rain, she ended up in a dark alley, where no one would bother her, where no one would care if she passed away. She could hear the drops of rain falling down on the stone roads, a calming sound that was disturbed by a dreadful roar. She tried to look for it only to see the frightful image of a Sinner headed in her own dark corner, chased by a group of knights. Then he came, jumping off from the roof and striking the Sinner down with his bare hand and granting it salvation from Sin. At the time she envied the Sinner, she had hoped it was her. The next thing she knew was being wrapped in warmth. The fear and hunger had taken too much of a toll that she must have passed out. When she opened her eyes, she was in the arms of this man, and he smiled at her comfortingly. She was saved.<br/><br/>Seeing her Captain now, the same man she held in the highest regard, looking so helpless tore her in pieces emotionally. She watched the man stand up to look out the window, while her mind struggled for a way to give him whatever comfort she could hope to share. Then it hit her, sometimes just the warmth of another is more than enough, yes, just like that night she was saved by him. Natalia walked towards Guilford and stopped behind him, calling for his attention. When the Seraph turned, she threw her arms around him, catching the man by surprise. She just hugged him tight without a word.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"What's wrong Nat?"</span>he asked but received no answer. Judging from the way she wrapped her slender arms around him, and how tight she was squeezing, told Guilford that his youngest knight also had a lot on her mind. Of course, it was not just him against the world, these people also shared his burden. That now, he just realized. Falling to an easy smile, Guilford gently wrapped his arms around Natalia.<span style="color: #0080FF">"My bad. I didn't think I would worry all of you this much."</span>he solemnly said but only received a tighter squeeze in response.<br/><br/>She was supposed to be the one giving comfort! Why was it working the other way around?! Natalia felt ashamed that her worries are being washed away by this man who had already given so much and was willing to take in more. Stop. This isn't how it's supposed to work! Yet she couldn't help herself, just the thought of having killed former Pristine Knights, and knowing they are powerless to save them weighed heavily on her. She hasn't told anyone, she thought she could bottle it in, but she was wrong. She needed strength, and right now that was what she was getting. She enjoyed the quiet moment in the arms of her Captain, even knowing she was being selfish.<br/><br/>Suddenly, the doors to their squad quarters flung open. "Gil! Wha--Woah! Woah! Sorry, my bad! Didn't think office romance was rampant since I left. Don't mind me, I'll be closing this door right here and will be on my way." Lance said and shot a wink at Guilford who was now midway in lowering his arms.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"Lance. This area should be 'Knights Only'. What are you doing here?"</span><br/><br/>"Well geez Gil, now you're really making it look like I was disturbing you two." He jested with a willy-nilly smile.<br/><br/>Natalia who hastened detaching herself from Guilford spun in her heels and glared at Lance. "It's not what you think it is!" she shrieked and stormed off the room, cheeks as bright as a rose and gave Lance a threatening and icy glare before heading out. Lance in turn made himself comfortable and loitered inside Guilford's squad quarters.<br/><br/>"You should give her the Tiger Crest." he picked up on his last attempt at humor. "Been a while since I've been in one of these but man, yours looks totally awesome! Look how neat everything is! You haven't changed a bit."<br/><br/>Guilford sighed. He wasn't expecting to see this man here of all places.<span style="color: #0080FF">"You didn't answer my question Lance."</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"It's not just him, us too."</span><br/><br/>Within moments, the rest of his friends, the Crests also entered his squad quarters. They were all in casuals and didn't hesitate in making themselves comfortable inside the room.<br/><br/>"Didn't think you were into younger women Gil." Alona quipped, slinging an arm around the Seraph while punching his gut lightly. Cora was pulling out her Grand Cross from Light-knows-where and was getting ready to use it on Guilford when Silver blocked her path.<br/><br/>Guilford sighed.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Can somebody please answer my question?"</span><br/><br/>"I have to say Gil, your taste isn't as bad as I thought it was." Akira continued, handing a piece of paper to Guilford who looked at him questioningly. "Her measurements. I had to use my special skill just to get accurate data since she was walking too fast."<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"Ugh! I don't need that!"</span>Guilford resisted the urge to smack the renowned scout.<br/><br/>"Oh! So you finally put into use the skill I taught you with just using your sense of feeling to gather accurate data? I'm impressed!" Akira chuckled.<br/><br/>Guilford face-palmed and earned himself a spot as the room's laughing stock. But it was good, being able to laugh like this (or being laughed at) made him forget about his worries for a moment. The Seraph soon learned that his friends had sneaked into the Grand Cathedral just to check on him because they too were worried. Now that he had confirmed that he was being a pain, the Seraph decided it was time to get his act together. When his friends left, Guilford took a few more hours with the paperwork before calling it a day.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________________________________________________</div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><div style="text-align: center;">Gless - Guilford's home (night)</div></span></span><br/><br/><br/>"Welcome back Master Guilford."<br/><br/>As usual, his butler seemed to know when exactly he was coming home just so he could greet him every time he passes through the gates. Guilford had tried coming home on inconsistent times to play around but not once had this man failed to greet him. He had suspected that this man had even greater sense than he ever did but chucked the thought aside knowing that his butler meant no harm.<br/><br/>"I have taken the liberty of making your squad comfortable sir, as I did with the others." he informed the Seraph while accompanying him back to the large house.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"My squad?"</span>So they decided to take him up on his offer.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Very well, thank you Corwin."</span><br/><br/>"Oh it is a pleasure Master Guilford. I don't really get too many chances of serving your guests so I am quite pleased to know you have such good friends...quite pleased I am indeed."<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"Don't get sentimental on me now Corwin."</span>Guilford chuckled but fell back to seriousness.<span style="color: #0080FF">"By the way, how is she?"</span><br/><br/>Corwin didn't have the heart to break the bad news. She had assisted Orphelia in gathering everything she needed and in the seldom times he came in to check if she needed anything else, he would lay eyes on the patient still with no visible change. The butler only gave Guilford a light shake of his head.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"I see. Thank you for looking after my guests in my absence Corwin."</span>Guilford thanked and made his way inside.<br/><br/>He was greeted by the sight of his squad loitering in his living room. Georg and Joaquim were musing over the various collection of weaponry inside large glass casings on display. Corwin had told them that the Rosenwulf ancestry were originally skilled blacksmiths that had a huge part in weapons development for the Immaculate when it was first formed, and that they were the ones who formulated Holy Steel. Hyuga was lost in the vast amount of reading material before him. Most of it were literary works from the time of the First War. Corwin was kind enough to explain to him that the Rosenwulf lineage had great love for literary work and took it upon themselves to preserve valuable pieces that they could get their hands on for future generations to come.<br/><br/>Vlad was absorbed in the various paintings of the time when people still lived in the surface. Corwin dutifully informed the knight that while most men in the Rosenwulf lineage are skilled with the sword, hammer, and anvil, the women were equally skilled with the paint, brush, and canvas. He had showed the knight the piece most loved by Guilford which was a painting of his family before a breathtaking view of Rosetta, Guilford's hometown named by his family. Corwin also told Vlad the most significant meaning behind the name Rosetta in line with the Rosenwulf ideal, a noted protector.<br/><br/>Natalia on the other hand flushed at the sight of Guilford making his way through the doors. She wasn't supposed to be here but the team convinced her that all of them needed to keep an eye on their Captain, hence the reason she found herself here. She smiled wryly at her Captain and did everything she could to avoid meeting his gaze. The rest of the squad didn't know she had stayed here for a year with Guilford until she was settled in Gless, this was actually the first time she felt shy about it. Guilford noted that the only one missing from his squad was Alfrei.<br/><br/>He smiled warmly at everyone.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Please make yourselves at home. Dinner should be served shortly. If you need anything, call me or Corwin."</span>His tone was different, more relaxed and accommodating. It was nothing like the tone he normally has when he's a Seraph or Squad Captain. Most of his squad members aside from Natalia never really had the opportunity to see him like this. After everything they have learned from his butler, they were mostly surprised. So this is what the other side of the Seraph was like?<br/><br/>"Lady Natalia, I am truly delighted to see you again. Would you care to polish up on your cooking lessons with me?" Corwin offered the ruby-eyed blonde with a warm smile. She gladly accepted, anything to get her mind off her thoughts and trailed Corwin to the kitchen, leaving the rest of her squad mates with a raised brow.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________________________________________________</div><br/><br/>Guilford took his personal time in the den, cleaning himself from this day's beating with a warm bath. About half an hour later and he was on his way upstairs to his bedroom where Lethe was. He met Lady Orphelia on his way which told him that someone was there for a visit. He nodded silently at the pregnant woman and continued his way towards the room. He knocked twice before opening the doors and making his way in.<br/><br/>Deimos saw him come in and was just about to stand up but was stopped by a hand gesture from the male Seraph. It was Lady Orphelia's strong wishes that there shouldn't be too many visitors at any one time but often made an exception for the owner of the house.<span style="color: #0080FF">"You can stay. I won't be long."</span><br/><br/>Guilford stood at the foot of his bed, purple eyes gazing at his Seraph partner lying peacefully beneath the sheets. Her breathing was not labored, nor did her face exhibit any form of pain. She looked beautifully serene had it not been for the knowledge that she hasn't woken up in a week. He had not spoken a word, just kept his eyes on her, wishing for a speedy recovery. Guilford then took off his Faith necklace. Following Orphelia's strict orders of not letting any foreign magic interrupt her recovery, Guiford drained the necklace of all its magic and moved to the side of the bed. He gently searched for Lethe's hand and placed his Faith securely in her grasp.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Wake up soon, everyone's waiting for you."</span>he whispered.<br/><br/>Once done, he nodded at Deimos and made his way out of the room.