|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 11:06 am
Disaster.
That was the only word that the general had to describe the events that had unfolded in the meeting of what was supposed to be his division. He'd been there, standing in the background observing, trying to ignore the disgruntled feelings that once again outsiders had been called upon to lead the force holding off the senshi pest.
There had been much that he wanted to have said in the wake of the dismissal of four of the most competent general's to have graced spec-ops but instead, like the others he had simply turned on his heel and left.
Respect was to be earned and was a two way street. The woman brought into lead did not respect them and had, for Labyrinthite, only served to make him lose respect with her treatment. She wanted loyalty, but demanded that they be loyal to no one. A contradiction and a woman who wished to rule by fear.
He knew better, or at least thought he did, that loyalty was a far stronger bond than one brought about by fear and he felt it showed. Xenotime's subordinates following her out when she was dismissed and his own, Captain Wolfeite joining him when he turned to leave. No hands were forced but expectations were clear and the loyalties had been defined.
"Come," he said gruffly as he made his way towards the hall of shadows. "We should talk, there is much to discuss." Wolfeite had followed him into spec-ops because it suited his skill set but now, General Labyrinthite didn't know what it meant for them to have left with the others.
"I want to tell you of General-Queen Tanzanite." Now she was a general-sovereign worth respecting and Labyrinthite knew he modeled his leadership after hers.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 2:08 pm
Wolfeite had remained entirely silent throughout the meeting, standing in the back beside Labyrinthite with his arms folded across his chest and the mask pulled up to cover most of his face. He'd had nothing to say; the events had unfolded as they had, and it had seemed both pointless and ridiculous to try and reason with someone who clearly had lost all sense of reason.
And besides, it wasn't as though Wolfeite cared about teamwork. He did what he had to do, and he did not need a label to tell him what that was.
He followed Labyrinthite out, tail flicking behind him. The halls were quieter, a few agents moving here and there, but otherwise it was not that populated. Their footsteps echoed a little as they walked, and one of Wolfeite's ears swiveled to catch the sound of someone passing.
He did not recognize the name of Tanzanite. "What of her?" Wolfeite asked, voice low and rumbling, slightly muffled behind the cloth. "I do not know that name."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 3:11 pm
The sound of his heels against the steps down echoed around them before they passed through the hall of shadows and into the rift. There was something immediately calming about the change in scenery as the Rift had been the place he'd disappeared into whenever he needed to clear his head. His visits had lessened since he'd become a general, but it's effects had not.
He kept walking, passing the pillars he liked to use for training and the barracks he'd once shown Wolfeite.
"General-Queen Tanzanite was the first of us to achieve what Metallia seems to think no one else is capable of." He did not bother to hide the bitterness in his voice as he led him the the bone tree and it's skeletal branches that reached upward like decrepit hands. "She was also the first half-youma, but unlike you the merge commenced to save her life." His gaze cut sharply to the man following him before he placed a palm against the spine.
"If there is anyone worth looking up to, it would be her." And he mourned her disappearance immensely, even if he kept a tight lid on it. "That woman who demands our respect is a disgrace when compared to her." There was a hiss of air between teeth as he curled his fingers into his fist and turned, resting his weight against the tree. "General-Queen Tanzanite would rip your heart out, not your starseed your actual heart, if she had to but she also fought for us and did not attempt to turn us against each other based upon false loyalty or threats."
He grit his teeth together, jaw ticking as he focused intently on the half-youma.
"Her rise came about when the blood moon court, which would later become a vast majority of the early dark mirrors," his voice had a hint of venom when he mentioned the other chaos court. He cared little for the court because of it's origins and the woman who once lead them. "Captured and tortured a large group of ours. The youma queen rose with the fall of General-king Marthozite. He came from the branches in Africa around the time that our new Queen and our recently deceased General-Queen Apatite." A long wordy tail that Wolfeite probably didn't care about. Still, he continued.
"She rained down a fire on them and retribution was sought. From the ashes black phoenix rose and - " a sharp grin crossed his mouth "There wasn't a single senshi that didn't fear her."
Iris and Castor included.
"The damages sustained during her, and the other's, time in captivity was nearly devastating yet, those that survived came out stronger because of her. Irreplaceable, she was." No one had quite filled the shoes left by her absence. "Strength and leadership like hers is hard to come by." But Metallia did he try. "These new general-sovereigns, they're two-bit replacements for legends and - there is no respect for one who acts like a child."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 3:31 pm
The Rift had once been merely an interest, and now would be for the foreseeable future, Wolfeite's place of residence. His time spent at Chase's was limited; he had to return to the Rift more often than not in order to continue gaining strength, and the change in scenery from the Hall of Shadows was both familiar and calming.
Wolfeite caught the sharp look Labyrinthite was giving him and did not comment on it. This Tanzanite, whoever she was, had become a youma just like he had, though he had little knowledge of anything further until he found out otherwise. And he did not care that Labyrinthite thought him foolish for what he'd become; he'd taken it and made it his own, and now he was both the wolf and the human.
Now he had the strength and the power of both.
Wolfeite's arms folded across his chest and he leaned back against the tree upon which Labyrinthite had placed his hand, a short distance away. He could not, in good conscious, say that he cared much about whoever the people in the past were - but knowing of what they had become, and what he could become was a different story. He filed away the knowledge, carefully stowing it away for later.
Wolfeite's gold eyes traced the lines of the rocks around them, not really seeing them as he sorted through all of this history. There was an almost reverent tone to Labyrinthite's voice when he spoke of Tanzanite; a sound that Wolfeite had not thought him capable of, and yet he clearly respected and desired to emulate the one he had called "the youma queen."
An interesting, very interesting, fact.
"I have seen little of the general sovereigns, but I find their methods dull," said Wolfeite, head tilted back against the three now, staring up at the inky darkness that surrounded them. A low growl escaped him, half a snort. "Not to mention useless. I see little reason to respect them as it is."
Not that he really respected anyone other than himself, but Labyrinthite already knew that.
Gold eyes slid towards the general.
"What do you intend to do?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:48 am
It didn't matter that Tanzanite had been a half-youma that the general had nothing but the utmost respect for, he did not see the strength in merging. From what he knew, there wasn't a single officer who willingly sought that life, but circumstances made them. Surely there were strengths he couldn't properly understand or respect, but he still viewed it as a half-life.
Wolfeite just hadn't experience the true drawbacks yet, Labyrinthite was certain they would come and he would learn. Besides, the strength of the wolf did not matter as long as the general could put him back into place. He didn't see that changing in the foreseeable future.
"You have arrived during a time of transition," Labyrinthite said shifting so that his shoulder was pressed against the bone and he could face the other man properly. "The last time, the general-sovereigns came from other continents and they did not come to rattle the branches, those didn't exist then. They came with the rise of General-King Howlitie and General-King Zinkenite and I have been a part of special operations since virtually it's foundations." Captaincy at last. "When I took a major threat out of play for a while." He should have followed through, gone after Hugbell for interfering but he hadn't.
He was a different man then.
"She doesn't understand the make-up of the division. She displayed zero knowledge of anyone present which means she did not do her research. You should never go into a meeting without having done your research." His father had taught him that, otherwise you were practically handing the other person the upper hand. "We functioned as a unit, remove one of us and the majority will follow." As shown when Cinnabar spoke up and the other's used their voices.
His tongue ran across his teeth as he kept a steady gaze on the captain. "I will be reassigning."
The order was unspoken, I expect you to as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 12:05 pm
Wolfeite did not turn to face Labyrinthite as the general shifted, but his golden eyed gaze did flicker sideways to rest upon his face. His arms remained folded across his chest, one foot raised to rest back upon the base of the tree, tail still moving silently back and forth behind him.
A time of transition. Wolfeite mused over this and the possibilities that stretched out in front of them. Vaguely he wondered whether this meant anything significant, though from what Labyrinthite was telling him, it did. Things were changing within the Negaverse, and it was unclear if it was for the better or for the worse.
Something told him it was the latter. Wolfeite listened silently to the flat, strong tone of Labyrinthite's voice and smirked beneath the mask he wore; it was always pleasing to hear that forceful resolution directed at someone other than himself.
"One left before the generals were dismissed," Wolfeite mused, thinking of the large Captain he'd seen spit on the ground. "And then the rest, and what, exactly, does that leave? A broken and fractured faction that's ripe for inner destruction."
He glanced at Labyrinthite, catching the look in his eyes. Wolfeite let out a low growl, half muffled beneath the cloth, then turned away, gaze narrowed.
"Where you go, I follow," he said flatly, because he knew it was what Labyrinthite wanted to hear - and it was what he did, anyway. There was little point in denying it now, even if he'd gotten angry at Domeykite for saying the exact same thing. To Labyrinthite, however, it was different; Labyrinthite had things to offer him, and Domeykite did not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 12:25 pm
"Two left." Two captains, one he recognized only because of her assistance with Zircon when they embarked on their missions the predated the meeting. "Outside of those that are recent additions, I doubt any remain." Labyrinthite was confident that where those general's went, their subordinate would follow.
"We will not do anything to further aggravate the division as it crumbles," he stated, sharply. If special operations fell to ruins and could not be repaired, he would have no hand in it outside of removing himself from what he viewed to be a lost cause.
If the general-queen expected any of the general's to grovel or beg for forgiveness, she would be mistaken. It was as Queen Laurelite said, the negaverse bows for no one, and as long as they found favor from the queen and Metallia herself, that was all that mattered.
He would not make Hematite's mistake, not when there wasn't someone like Tanzanite to stand for her agents. Just because it wasn't his personal history did not mean that he could not learn from it. He would not be like Napoleon, he would be smarter, wiser. Greater.
"Good boy," Labyrinthite said roughly, a smirk splitting across his face. "Remember that true strength and power come from knowing when and where to pick your battles." He pushed off bone trunk and stepped away, jerking his head in a notion for Wolfeite to follow him.
"Idle energy needs to be wasted," he stated, fingers flexing against his leg. "I want to test your combat abilities against weapons, in case it becomes something worth worrying about." His statement was vague, could easily be applied to knights though their weapons were often non-lethal.
Labyrinthite trusted his wolf to read between the lines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 1:04 pm
He'd forgotten about the other one, though now that Wolfeite thought about it, he did seem to recall a second having left. It was doubtful, as Labyrinthite had said, that any but the newer recruits would have stayed; there was little point in staying in a division that did not have any benefits to its members.
It took a great deal of effort not to roll his eyes, but Wolfeite nodded, his ears flicking forward. "The division doesn't need any more aggravation from anyone to crumble," he said, with a dismissive snort. "It's perfectly capable of doing that entirely on its own."
Not to say he didn't think that one could benefit from such a thing, but unless there was something in it for Wolfeite that he could use towards his own goals, he would leave it alone. And the possibility of either of them - because he had come to know Labyrinthite's pride, as well as his own - on their knees, begging to return - was about as likely as Wolfeite becoming a tame kitten or Labyrinthite becoming a senshi.
The smirk on the general's face made Wolfeite want to snap it off of him with his teeth, but he refrained, glowing eyes watching as he stepped in front of him. With a resigned snort, Wolfeite pushed himself away from the tree and followed, ears swiveling in the direction of Labyrinthite's voice.
Idle energy. He could think of a myriad of ways to expend that, half of which involved tearing off limbs and biting until there was blood, but apparently that was not the direction they were going in at the moment. Wolfeite's gaze narrowed a little.
"Fine," he said roughly, already feeling the itch to move, "What weapons?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 1:22 pm
"Exactly, so steering clear is a wiser move."
Labyrinthite did wonder what moves his fellow general's would make, but not enough to reach a hand out to them. His own were full with his growing number of warpups that he wanted to keep in top condition and prepared for any fallout that may occur. He would start with his wildest wolf and then move onto the rest; he wasn't worried about the tongues of Tourmaline, Dia, or Aluminite. He wasn't particularly worried about Adamantine either, because in the end their loyalties lied with him. Zircon he worried mildly about, but trusted that given the situation, he trusted she would stand beside him and Schorl. Still, preparing for the worst possible outcome was a must.
There would come a time, he was sure, when he went out with his wolf and set him lose on whatever unfortunate target stumbled into their path or when there was a mission to complete, until then - they would stick to brutal sparring matches where anger and hatred bubbled in the belly of the beast.
Labyrinthite had gotten several paces ahead of Wolfeite, headed towards the pillars he preferred to use, when the question was asked and he snorted. "Mine," he sneered, pausing and looking back before his fingers flexed and the bone scythe materialized into his left hand. Fingers curled around the skeletal staff when he lifted it with ease, arm muscles rippling from the exertion.
The size alone was enough to make it a threat, but the weight and glisten of a sharp blade made it deadly. "I do not use it for training sessions, as it can do critical damage but it's time for an exception."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:17 pm
He could watch the fall of the branch from a distance; they were bound to implode at some point or another, and perhaps the others would as well. There was no telling when or what would happen, not when they were in, as Labyrinthite had said, a "time of transition." Things were shifting, for better or for once, and Wolfeite would take advantage of the things he could.
His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the man in front of him, the scythe reappearing in a gust of displaced air. It was large and brutal; no doubt whoever was on the end of it would have a harder time getting back up, but far from fearing it, Wolfeite simply felt a thrill of expectation, of adrenaline in his stomach.
"Well, then," he said, and the kerchief was tugged down so that Wolfeite's fangs were bared, his lip drawn back, his ears flattened back against his hair. He was half bent over, fingers splayed in claw like positions, and a low growl rumbled through him, every inch of him tensed for a fight.
"Let's get started, then."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
