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Admiring the tower, newly repaired and modified, Velda felt a thrill of anticipation even as she fussed with her headset and waited for her two volunteers to arrive. Edmund was probably going to fuss over having to leave his project, but she needed to see a variety of hunters work their way through this course. Also she felt he needed to spend more time with the other hunters, at least for more than just verbal harassment and...well...

Her cheeks heated up as she very firmly chose not to speculate, and instead switched her line of thought to Aria. The girl needed to spend time with hunters of other divisions just as badly as her assistant, if not more so. It wasn't her place to judge other divisions but...it wasn't her place to judge. She was not going to judge. But if she could help the trainee socialize more with the other divisions, maybe she wouldn't gain that...edge of resentment some of the more senior Mist hunters held toward the rest of Deus. Edmund would help, surely, he was often very charming around pretty women so maybe...hopefully...

The Life leader sighed.

And then there was...

"Aurora, come in. Do you read me Aurora?" Caelius had failed to bring her back a souvenir from his last mission to Russia. She wasn't sure if this was because he had forgotten (about her) or had been too busy (to remember she existed) or if it was just a matter of him disliking her. Any of these made her feel...hurt. So maybe this was a little bit punishment, a little bit of a reminder that she existed and had needs, and a little bit of an excuse to spend time with Liam's son.

Was this really okay? Aria couldn't help but to feel guilty after receiving the orders from the Life Division leader. As a new recruit, she was bound to any and all orders, and Velda's request overrode her intermediate hunter's training session. Then again, Aria realized, it probably meant that the next time they met she would have to train twice as hard to make up for it. Such was the way of the Mists.

She didn't drag her heels as she followed the directions she had been given, paying extra attention to the numbers of twists and turns. A majority of her training took place off Deus, away from the conflicting influence of the other divisions. It wouldn't do the Mists any good to have their newest be recruited into another division, would it? Not at all. It was uncommon to come across a trainee with no attachments, no familiarity with anyone else. She was an ideal Mist candidate, ready to be shaped to their particular uses and specifications.

All in all, it left the trainee feeling quite out of place as she arrived at the Miss Taken Tower. She craned her head back as she looked up, distaste written across her face. Was she seriously supposed to climb that and rescue someone at the top? Seriously? She continued to stare as the sparkling pink princess hat fluttered down from the tower, her blue eyes tracking its progress.

"You've got to be ******** kidding me."

Though Velda was nowhere in sight, the sun trainee still straightened up rather considerably, giving the thin air a serious look as he echoed a 'Yes'm'.

Though Caelius did manage to keep this rigid expression for a fair period of time, his expression was slowly faltering as he heard the words 'Princess Tower' from Velda, and perhaps the words 'rescue the princess'. And who on earth were Edmund and Aria - moresoever, could he really count on them not to spill not a word of this post training exercise? He had a short but hopefully fulfilling life ahead of him, and he was rather hoping its duration would not be filled with continuous questions about his ah, dressing habits.

The Sun trainee leaned over again against the tower, watching the three specks down below, suddenly conflicted as to whether or not he really wanted to be rescued like this. Velda didn't have cameras up here right, it would be okay if he took off the dress right? Slowly, very carefully, he lifted up the hem of the skirt to try. He could just say it accidentally fell off, just like the hat.

Edmund carefully did not prod his leader into further sulking, and there's no doubt that was what had occurred. He eyed the girl leading the way, and wondered briefly what she could have done to so upset Velda. She'd visibly struggled to take the Life leader seriously, but most people did that daily, especially those in other divisions.

He studied the Mist hunter's movements as he summoned Marie. "Not bad at all, my dear." He was possibly commenting on her fighting skills. Possibly. The glowing blades of the whip flew past her, striking into the shadows, and he used the opportunity to close the distance and take a closer look at the trainee. "I've always so admired how...versatile the Mist women are."

Her stern [removed](along with her heart) broke as the pink material fell, and Velda stared woefully up at the tower. Why did Caelius hate her and everything that she gave him? She turned her gaze to the ground, her stomach aching and chest hurting. Maybe she should have done this on another day...she wasn't feeling well today, even though she'd taken care to eat and wear warm clothes.

"Did I mention how pretty your um..... your hair is today, Ve- miss Division Leader?"

Her face flushed and suddenly she was feeling warm, and a little giddy, "Um...you...you really think so?"

Maybe she should brush it more often.

Her face grew flush as Edmund's words sank in, her mind making leaps and bounds through hoops of irrational logic. "Wh-" She sputtered, trying to catch up with her thoughts.

Mists were versatile: fact. Most were, others specialized, others were in the division long enough to realize that another division offered better things and defected to that. Mist women? Made sense, a majority of Mists were women. Men didn't stick around for many different reasons.

The sheer weight of innuendo held in that single word linked with Mist women, however, prompted Aria to lunge forward and spin, lifting her heeled foot in a kick directed at where she thought H was. "Nothankyouwhilethat'snicetosayIdon'tthinknow'sthetimeoranythinglikethatconsidering," Aria babbled, her face growing even hotter as she took a step back, adding, "Let'skeepmovingokay?!"

He recovered through sheer incredulous rage, and stormed (or rather, limped angrily up) the stairs, more than ready for the next set. Edmund had heard there were vats of acid in this part and he was rather looking forward to pushing his so-called partner in one. Opening the door he waved her in, "After you, my dear."