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Zeffer met Byakko's furious gaze for every second she chose to maintain eye contact, not willing to back down by being the first to look away. It was not so much a challenge as a sort of playful revenge, because really, how had she expected him to react? Amused and endeared by her very obvious anger and irate twitching, the sound of her comrade's snickering brought him even greater delight. It couldn't get any better than that, could it? He knew he'd be in for it later, but he couldn't have cared less. Everything was okay, she was still alive, and she was here with them. It felt a little stupid to have doubted himself before, so he put it out of his mind, grinning as her attention was finally pulled away by one of the littler attendees.

They certainly were eager, bless their little pump biscuits. The yellow one had some fairly constructive questions, and Zeffer quickly fell into a silence that was considerably calmer than the one he'd been forcing before, as Akko fielded their questions and concerns. It would be interesting to see what they would do from now on. Aprife had had the right idea conning Muerte into joining up again, Zeffer felt, but recruiting seemed like it could quickly turn into a dangerous job, something that he'd never really given any consideration to. Part of Akko's answer caught his attention more than the rest, however. He wondered exactly how many trolls were in on the sabotage; he would have guessed a few, but the way she was talking made it sound like a small group or worse.

And then her attention had shifted back to him again, and he offered her a fangy smile while he listened to her instruct the gathering on what to do. So, they were off to do a bit of detective work? Zeffer's eyes slid over to Aprife and Muerte, and his grin widened. Even though it was something of a serious situation, it was going to be interesting to piece together exactly where the Initiative had gone wrong, and Zeffer was confident that his matesprit could make plenty of a contribution toward that goal. Muerte was a clever little b*****d when he wanted to be, too, and would make a good addition to the rebels, if he decided it was worth his time. Stretching, he slid onto his feet and nodded once Akko was done. "So, snooping around a bit. Gotcha."

Stryke could tell right away based on Kursha's response he had no intentions of responding to him. He narrowed his eyes slightly on the other, miffed but willing to let it go for now given they were in a meeting. Really the shoulder squaring and not even daring to look at him made him clench his jaw in frustration.

Whatever. For now he focused on the task at hand, and would try to confront him more directly later. Stryke tuned into the words that had been spoken by Byakko. That at least was something he could focus on.

Their leader was right; he was willing to fight against the odds if even for better or worse. The movement had reaches beyond even this room he could summarize, just because they were present didn't account for didn't mean others weren't out there. The movement would rise and fall, and ultimately sore regardless of the hardships and trials. Everything worth fighting for had its setbacks. Trolls would come when the time was right or permitting. He'd come here despite his reservations, and was willing to give it his all, for what it was worth.

Byakko's words meant more to him than he could express surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces. She may have been young, but the passion in her dedication and truth of her words rang true to his very core. As Byakko and he made eye contact, Stryke nodded at her when she gestured to him. Unflinching, he felt pride in knowing she wasn't afraid to tell it like it was. "that makes sense. more will come, some will go. that doesn't make for less, or detract from what your building here...i think i understand. hmm. you have my full support as well!" he added in conclusion, having nothing further to say directly in relation to the topic at hand.

Just as he was about to leave to go look for possible team mates seeing as some had already formed into groups, Stryke felt his pump biscuit skip a beat at yet another familiar voice that raised from those gathered. It was from a troll he hadn't seen in such a long time...since before the drought when they'd spend time together in the library. His head snapped in her direction, wide eyed momentarily. He almost didn't recognize her, almost everything about her was different, but that kind voice could only be one troll.

"oh!" he breathed softly, a rush of relief and joy overcoming him. The kid nearly fell off his chair when he scooted off it, moving around to the pair that held hands. It was obvious to him at least they had some kind of affection for one another, and weren't afraid to show it. While it was hard to say if the redblood beside the familiar yellowblood was some one he knew his mind told him that yes in fact..it was Odette, the girl whom Vremea had saved.

Without thinking, even if he hated close contact he hugged Vremea, tightly. "i'm glad you're alright..both of you." he rubbed his nose sheepishly not wanting to offend the redblood if even by chance. Looking away muttering an apology before retreating to a seat near the pair for the moment until he worked out whom he'd team up with.

Somewhere from point X to Y and Z, she had been separated from Lunear. Milieu tugged gently at the teal scarf around her neck and took a seat, watching the proceedings with open curiosity. This was the firs time in many days that she had been in someone's presence beside Lunear's, and the abrupt voices (Or screams and pounds) were jarring. Milieu frowned deeply, sending a scathing glare at the two before turning her attention back to their leader. Byakko was safe, thank god.

Yet the initiation was far from safe. As a matter of fact, it seemed they were on the brink of demise. When the trolls were dispersed, Milieu remained still in her seat and watched the shifting crowd. She felt a mix of loneliness and a little lost. Normally she'd be with Odette and Vremea, but since she hadn't seen either of them since the mission to spring the rebels from the brig... Well obviously there was no knowing how well or bad they were. Milieu frowned and felt a pang of guilt for having not contacted them.

Standing up, she smoothed out her clothes and began to pick her way around the chairs. This was a new area... This cave, with the many rooms. This was headquarters. The teal really shouldn't have been surprised, but given that she had joined when they were using the forest near OHC, er Civisect, as a base she had erroneously assumed that was the usual base of operations. Exploring the actual base and learning the layout seemed like a rather good idea. Perhaps, she mused, exploration would lead to finding Lunear again and another teammate, as they needed groups of three.

Shifting the side satchel that held her whiteboard and markers, the teen heard many voices, but none quite so clear as Vremea's. For a moment Milieu was struck down with dread and wanted to avoid the yellowblood. Their last meeting had been disastrous, though both affirmed they would remain close and still be friends. Then... Well... Milieu raised a hand to her scarf, her soft fingertips pressed against the flesh of her neck as a teal blush colored her cheeks. Something a bit unexpected had happened. Vrem and her were nothing, it had been completely one sided, but she still felt a little nervous that it might offend Vremea that Milieu hadn't even waited a day before hopping trains, so to speak. Sighing silently, the elegant troll shook her head and steeled her nerves before approaching through a thick wall of trolls to where Vremea's clear voice had rang.

What Milieu hadn't expected was how much Vremea had changed. She stopped short and stared, still near other trolls so she could blend in and hide. Fear and anguish climb higher and higher until it suffocated her. When had Vremea grown? During those days they were apart? Suddenly dazzling, the teal couldn't find it in herself to approach the group. She desperately wanted to, to speak to Odette and say hello to Athene. Oh! There was Stryke too. Truly Milieu wanted nothing more than to approach them and say hello, exchange hugs. To be in their company again would be splendid.

But there was no longer room for her there, was there? She smiled sadly and turned, heading towards a cave opening. It wasn't just that the teams were in threes. Milieu's presence was superfluous. They had one another, a strong group of capable friends who had known one another longer. Who would need her, after all? Vremea had to learn a new skill set so she could even be useful during the OHC battle. Milieu had proven almost useless during the whacky weather event in the desert. She had preformed decently during the battle with Aendal, but had been incapable of saving Odette (though Odette returned to them in the end). All in all, she was mediocre and more of a handicap than any asset. Perhaps if she had a voice... Maybe none of this would have happened. Her dearest friends did not need her.

[+] Kursha Vidari

“Great!” Kursha exclaimed, slinging an arm around the greenblood's shoulders. His grin broadened. Yep, she was clueless. “That's too bad about you missing out, but we'll make up for it here. Always glad to see someone with a little enthusiasm...” Kursha's gaze drifted around the room. As much as he would have liked to stay and chat up Rasali,* he was running out of time. Teams were forming quickly and unless he acted soon, he would be stuck in a duo. Or worse. He caught sight of a certain yellowblood out of the corner of his eye. He was determined not to let that happen.

“Hang on.” Releasing Rasali, Kursha strode across the room. He came to a stop in front of Byakko. “Kursha Vidari,” he said simply, leaning against the edge of the table. He extended a hand. “So, you just heading the big event or would you interested in a little grunt work?” He offered a cocksure smile.

*Purely for exploitive purposes.

The returned hug at least was comforting enough, and briefly provided a distraction as he greeted her. Giving her hand on his shoulder a gentle squeeze he lowered his hands at his side, Stryke's gaze also flickered around the room, looking at several of the faces present before he opened his mouth to reply. "well enough, the journey wasssn't too terribly long." He admitted with a small nod. "oh? miliue is here? i'll have to say hi to her as well when i find her." Stryke agreed, also nodding politely to the greenblood Vremea had acknowledged, wishing to be polite for what it was worth.

Stryke's expression went blank as she mentioned she'd seen some one. He almost could be certain he knew whom she was referring too, and actually glanced away with a disconcerting frown. His brows knit together slightly before he looked back and shook his head with a shrug. "i've ssseen him, don't um worry about it right now. thank you however." He quickly added, to avoid rising suspicion as to why he was being dismissive about the topic. Nope, there would be no directly confronting Kursha, not tonight at least. "i think i'll see if anyone else needs a team member, since um everyone else looks pretty busy." Stryke added with a tense little half smile. "good luck on your information search by the way, i'm curious to see what we'll all find!" He mused, rubbing his chin in consideration ready to excuse himself and get to poking around the facility.