He was still feeling the strength of his heartbeat from raising his voice against the High Council but when the doors closed, Guilford's thoughts drifted away into more pressing concerns. Sure, they were allowed to venture out into Palaugrim, but given the stiff timeframe of one week, there's hardly anything they could accomplish at all! Then the question lingers, why does the council forbid Lethe to move about as much, whereas his squad is almost always out in the field, all the time without much reprieve. For one, it would be nice if they could rotate on and off island missions between each other, that should at least give his men a break. His thoughts nearlly bumped into a mental wall just as he almost bumped into Lethe when she stopped before him. She had mentioned something about Bryn letting him go into the meet given his condition.<span style="color: #0080FF">"It wasn't easy."</span>he said with a wry smile.<br/><br/><span style="color: gray">"Or were you hoping to make a statement with that?"</span><br/><br/>Spot on. As expected of Lethe to pick up on his intentions. The root was the rumors he heard. Guilford had been greatly bothered by the High Council's rumored demeanor towards her squad. Coming in injured was to serve two purposes. First, it was to convince the council to allow Lethe's squad to move with him, make a statement of sorts as his fellow Seraph put it, and confirm his suspicions. Second, for this. Guilford nearly wanted to close his eyes with the sensation. Not by the magic Lethe washed over his wounds, but by her mere touch, that warm, gentle, and soothing feel of her smooth skin. It made her recall the times they both spent together in the past, where it was just the two of them against all odds. The bond the two of them had formed since the battle with the God of Sin had become something special to him. He missed her.<br/><br/>Be that as it may, things changed. No longer does he have the luxury of the only comfort he felt amidst all the turmoil that was simply her company. The same oath they swore to the Divine Light that first bonded them together now separated them when they were made into Seraphs. Whether this was fate or destiny, he couldn't tell. His right hand trembled from two things, the desire to reach for Lethe's hand and hold it in his own, conflicted with the duties and responsibilities placed upon their shoulders that prevented him from doing so. His heart rate elevated, his mind in chaos with the long suppressed emotions now swirling freely within him. He wanted to say the words he long kept locked to himself, no-- he needed to say it. As Guilford struggled to convert the emotions into audible words, his mind suddenly went blank. The hand that earlier trembled, yearning for another's touch had curled into a fist. His heart rate returned to normal. Just like that, duty won him over, again.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"...thanks."</span>he almost silently mumbled. That was the only thing he could afford to say.<br/><br/>The next set of sentences from the White Seraph came in crystal clear. Guilford heard them just fine, he just didn't process them entirely. With his gaze slowly shifting to Lethe's face, he began to notice something he had missed before, probably because of her make-up. She looked beautifully exhausted, told by the faint redness in her eyes. Yet here she was, trying her best to fulfill the role given to both of them. Leaning in closer to Lethe's face, with only inches of space separating them, he stared into her blue eyes.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"Have you been getting any sleep at all?"</span>he asked after straightening his back once more.<span style="color: #0080FF">"We can worry about formations and roles some other time. We have two days before departure, why not give our men a day to enjoy themselves?"</span>he said and moved to the side, walking past Lethe but stopping just a few steps after her.<span style="color: #0080FF">"You can always talk to me if something is troubling you Lethe. You know that right?"</span>he asked, not really looking for any answer. It was not like him to pry in someone else's private life. Still, whatever bothers Lethe, bothers him too, and this is the only way he knew how to extend his hand towards her.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Let's all meet at the Golden Sun the day after tomorrow."</span>he suggested.<span style="color: #0080FF">"I heard it's a popular store; I've always wanted to go there."</span>and added.<br/><br/>Waving a hand at Lethe, Guilford began to make his way towards his squad quarters. He had news to share, men and women to dismiss.<br/><br/><br/>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br/><br/><br/>When Guilford returned to his squad quarters, he earned the attention of everyone upon opening the doors. He interrupted a heated battle between Vlad, Georg, and Joaquim in a popular strategy board game named Knights. Bryn and Nat who were sharing some tea and notes glanced at him, Alfrei stopped in the middle of refining his sword, and Hyuga almost jumped out of his study corner upon the sight of him.<br/><br/>"Captain! Captain! Captain!" the Dreamer yelled in succession.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"Compose yourself. It's unnerving to see a grown man acting childish."</span>Guilford halted and closed the door behind him. He looked at Hyuga who appeared greatly excited by something but seemed to refuse to talk unless Guilford actually asks.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Spare me the formalities Hyu. What is it?"</span><br/><br/>"A breakthrough! A breakthrough I say! I have determined what the crystal is!" he cried out in glee, raising both arms in the air signaling triumph. By then everyone's eyes turned to him, all with expectant looks for his so called breakthrough. "But first Captain, I should thank you for letting me keep this sample of the crystal. Had you not done so..." Hyuga continued, his words turning into an extended speech of gratitude. Brynhildr felt a nerve swell. "Oh for the light of... Hyuga! You hounded the captain day in and day out for that stupid piece of rock! Of course he had to let you keep it to shut you up!" she retorted, seeing Hyuga's brow's twitch upon her interruption. "Get on with it Hyuga, we don't want to spend our entire day with your lecture." the others grilled, making the man's shoulders slump in defeat.<span style="color: #0080FF">"I concur."</span>Guilford added, hammering the final nail to Hyu's intellectual coffin.<br/><br/>"Fine! You brutes and normals can't appreciate the effort I have put my heart and soul into! Listen and listen well," he paused and ran back to his desk to pick up the contained crystal sample. "take a look at it now and tell me what you see." he confidently said as he held the sample forward for everyone to look at. Alfrei raised his hand in the air, catching Hyuga's attention. "It's a crystal Hyu, a crystal." he said confidently. Natalia's quizzical stare changed to that of understanding. "Oh my light, you're right lieutenant! It is a crystal!" she said mimicking a dumbfounded tone. Brynhildr facepalmed and the three older knights at the back shared a heartful laugh. It was Hyuga's turn for his nerves to swell. "You-You dolts! This isn't just a crystal! It's a plant!" he raged, turning desperately to his Captain for salvation.<br/><br/>Guilford sighed at the antics of his squad behind closed doors. For them to be labeled Team Prissy by Lethe's squad because of their public image, these guys sure doesn't act like it. Nonetheless, what he noticed with Hyuga's crystal-plant thing was strange. Instead of it glowing a faint purple, it was now faintly golden.<span style="color: #0080FF">"It now has a golden glow, like something holy is within."</span>Guilford answered his knight. Hyuga's hype went up faster than it went down earlier at the words of his captain. "As expected of you Captain! Details do not escape your eyes! I knew I could count on you to--" he said but was cut off with a stern call of his name.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Hyuga. Explain, now."</span><br/><br/>Clearing his throat to avoid further embarrassment, Hyuga set the crystal container aside. "Everyone, for the past three days I have been feeding it with my holy energy. Thanks to Master Lethe defeating the manifested essence that was originally inside this plant, it no longer had anything to contain. I surmise that it is a peculiar type of plant that absorbs whatever form of energy it can get. Do you understand?"<br/><br/>With everyone now listening intently to his talk, Hyuga continued. "The crystal plant itself isn't dangerous, it's what it feeds on down in the Barrens that's making it dangerous. If we can get these to grow while feeding it with holy energy, I strongly believe that we can effectively form a countermeasure for the sin infected ones." he claimed confidently.<br/><br/>"So you're saying fight fire with fire is that it?" Brynhildr asked, head lightly tilted to one side. "Exactly!" Hyuga immediately answered. "Suppose you're right, how can you grow these things? Do you have proof that it will work?" Georg added from the back. "Err.. no, I don't have the slightest clue on how to grow these yet but... if I'm right about how these crystal plants work," he paused and picked up the crystal container once more. "Can I undo your seal Captain?" Hyuga asked.<br/><br/>Except for Guilford, the others jumped back, all of them staggering to get their hands on their weapons. "Are you crazy!? What's going to happen if that evil version of Master Lethe comes out again!?" Brynhildr hissed. "Relax, it should be safe now. Besides, we're fully rested, so if I'm wrong, we can just beat it back to oblivion right?" Hyuga nonchalantly voiced and returned his gaze to his captain.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"No. Hand that sample to me."</span>Guilford ordered, forcing Hyuga to turn in the crystal sample to his hands. The rest of the squad sighed in relief and came to relax once more.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Should anything happen, I wouldn't want you to be blamed for it. I'll undo the seal myself."</span>Guilford continued and undid the seal faster than anyone could blink or complain. The others stood there silently but ready to attack anything that might come out. Guilford rolled the crystal to his palm and grasped it tightly, closing his eyes to spiritually feel if anything is amiss.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Not even the slightest taint. I'm surprised."</span>he commented and tossed the crystal towards the rest of his squad. Alfrei had trouble catching it but as soon as he held it in his hands, he could immediately tell the difference. "It... it feels like our Faith necklace."<br/><br/>While the others mulled over the piece of crystal in amazement, Guilford turned to Hyuga.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Have the scribes write down your findings and tell them to send a copy of it immediately to Lethe and her squad while they're still here. They should know about this."</span>he ordered and called for the attention of everyone.<span style="color: #0080FF">"Listen up, we're heading out to Palaugrim two days from now with Lethe and her squad. I want you all to take this day and tomorrow for yourselves. We meet up in the Golden Sun the day after tomorrow. Squad dismissed."</span>