Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Uh... actually." Rivera blinked. "I think it's fate's idea of a joke. Thanks, Kira." She took her swim top from him and examined the strings with a whistle. "Nice aim, Kes... you didn't even have to sever the entire string to untie the thing." She retied it around her body, this time a little bit tighter.

"Thanks." Saraneth grinned, making the victory sign. "I'll leave you alone if you want, but I don't care if Rivera's marrying you. She's still my mistress."

"Wait..." Rivera stopped everything. "When did we decide that?"

"Two seconds ago?"

"No, that's YOU deciding it!"

"Does that mean you mind?"

"Uh..."

"Sheesh. Take a joke, lover boy." Kestrel muttered. "This is no coincidence, however." Her tone became serious immediately. "I just like to make a flashy entrance. The point is... we've found the constellations, thanks to Osprey. However, no thanks to him, they found us too. To avoid trouble, we're just going to send out one fighter on each side and have them face off. Winner takes all, loser and entire alliance disband or die... simply spoken. We're trying to decide between you and Hawkboy. A lot is resting on this decision. 90% of the Alliance does this as a full time job. If we disband, they are going to be unemployeed. Which means they'll come after whoever the heck lost them their jobs, which would be the loser of this little spar. So... I think you should keep this thing in mind." Kestrel turned to leave.

"Oh... and by the way. The face off is tomorrow." And she was gone.

"I can just as much say 'I don't want to lose the man I'm engaged to' AND I can also say that 'I'll feel guilty IF Kuro is left without his twin'. You know that when a person looses their counterpart, they go through spiritual havoc, right?" Rivera leant against his bare chest, her cheek resting against him and a smile on her face. "I, on the other hand, am used to this sort of work. I don't have any living relatives. None of my co-workers see me as anything more than an officer or dictator, not as friends." She kissed him where she could hear his heart beat distinctly. "And I seem to have this uncanny knack for living through everything, don't I?" She still didn't know that her name gave her a sort of half-immortality. It was more of a protection in combat than anything else though, increasing her power every time she is hurt.

"Besides, I have something more important in store for you." She became serious. "Listen carefully. I know the manner of the constellations. They won't back down even after they lose. In other words, we have to kill off every single one of them. We need everyone that can kill from the air, and that means you. It's the fastest, clearest and most effective way to pinpoint them and kill them off. I can't fly, only glide on wind, and I have very little control in aerial combat. The only thing I can do in an alliance war is work on the ground."

Rivera lovingly kissed Kira's throat, pressing her chest against his and her hands on his shoulders. "Remember to fly into the line of the sun of your primary target." She whispered. The water felt really good. There's no way she could be tense, even if she wanted to be. It was great... "But... even if it wouldn't be possible to have a child at the moment..." Her eyes grew mischievous. If one of them dies tomorrow, well... that's how they live every other week. Aside from being used to the prospect, they also know how to enjoy themselves right before something big, just because that every night may be their last. "We could still have some fun."

"You, Kes and Osprey." She said. "Kes is taking care of the south. Osprey will take the west, and you'll be commissioned on the north. The west is all groundwork, meaning me and the little people." Rivera turned to his back and kneaded her hands against his hardened body with every drop of love she had for him. It was moments like these that she lived for outside of her killer's life. "We'll have to kill them all off the moment the main battle ends. In fact, if it looks like I'm about to win, start killing. They won't take chances either." There was a bit of laugh in her voice. She was obviously used to this sort of thing.

"And do take Koishi with you." She smiled. "He'll protect you better than any armor." Rivera ground her hands against him a little harder now, firmer and with a steadier, slower pace, working from his back to his shoulders, then down to his upper arms. "Besides, he'll be awfully lonely to be left home alone, wouldn't you think?"

"Draco, for sure..." She mused. "Then the Gemini twins. They're damn good... There's a really good chance every single one from the Zodiac circle will be pulled in." The Constellation elite 12 were named for the zodiac. The only way to gain that title is for one of them to die and another to fill the spot. More often than not, the successor was the killer. "But their best is definitely Virgo. Surprisingly..." Rivera smirked. "Virgo's a guy."

"I don't know who I'm going to go up against. It could be any of the 12. Their alliance is an oligarchy. Ours is more of an... I guess an anarchy... except with some form of mutual consent on everything." She sighed. Alliances were so nuts. "And I told you that when one of the elites die off, or two in this case, the place gets filled. There's another pair of pretty good assassins. They're not twins, but they just as well might be. They move in perfect sync."