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∞ Ephias Sagine

On one hand, it was a relief to get away from Milieu and her friends. He felt like a third... fifth wheel among their reunion, and honestly was looking for an escape before they considered including him on their hugs. On the other hand, he was now alone with a troll he was completely unfamiliar with. Well, not really alone. There was still Wolly, who was busy snuffling the girl's hand, and the other members of the initiative were right there.

“Er...” Ephias considered the troll before him. She looked close to his age and, wore hemo-anonymous clothing, as well a bright red bandanna around her neck. He was reminded vaguely of bandit, or an outlaw. Then again, considering the circumstances that was appropriate. In retrospect, he felt under-prepared.

“'Chains' is new,” he said. He blinked slowly. “Would that make you ah... b-bandanna?”

∞ Ephias Sagine

“Badass”. That was definitely not a word Ephias would have associated himself with. He took a moment to gauge the redblood's sincerity, while his lusus distracted her. Beneath the coat of wool, the sheep's tail was shaking merrily. As he watched, Ephias soon found himself smiling. He stifled a laugh at the name “Chain-Daddy”. He had felt anxious before, but seeing the redblood interact so naturally with his lusus put him at ease.

“Ah... Wolly isn't really okay with it,” Ephias said. He stuck his hands in his pockets. “But he under-understands, and likes to look out for me.” That was a bit of an understatement. After the incident in New Hemisect, the sheep had not let Ephias out of his sight even once. As if he could tell what Ephias was thinking, Wolly let out a bleat, before returning vigorously to the snuggles. Ephias sighed, reddened, and turned his gaze upward.

“I-I-In any case, I don't really mind,” he continued. Wolly butted up against Aerona's waist, tail continuing to wag. “What about your lusus?”

∞ Ephias Sagine

“Ah.” At Aerona's remark, Ephias glanced back down towards the sheep. Often times Wolly could be coddling, and even overbearing, but for the most part he let Ephias have free reign, while supporting him in whatever choices he made. It was a luxury that Ephias forgot not all trolls had. He had been very fortunate to receive the lusus he had.

Ephias paused after Aerona's next question. Lace Ladies? She must have meant Milieu, Vremea, and the others. But what about the wrong side of a highblood's boot? There was a wrong side? He supposed maybe the underside could qualify as “wrong” considering it could imply being stepped on. That was also where all the grime accumulated. But as a protective surface, it served a function. Could it really be...?

Aware of the increasing silence, Ephias forced his thoughts to settle. He was overthinking this.

“Um... I got l-lucky,” he admitted. That was the truth though it seemed odd to say, especially considering they were talking about treason. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess it was something that was a long time coming, but I uh... lost my temper over something dumb, got into trouble, met up with Milieu, and that was it.”

To be honest, he still felt unsure of his place within such a faction. Milieu had assured him that the Phoenix Initiative was about overthrowing the current status quo and implementing new ideals, but until Ephias felt certain that their goals overlapped with his own he could not consider himself a member. Not that the empire would care. It was not a position he could throw himself into halfheartedly. None of that he could say however.

“I always wanted to make a difference, but... it's hard to make p-progress alone.” Not that he would not have tried. He slipped his hands back into his pockets. His shears jangled against the buckles on his pants. “And you? You came in with the uh... Lace Ladies?”

∞ Ephias Sagine

Ephias could understand where she was coming from. Even though he felt no different about those higher blooded than himself, he understood that their role in the initiative carried a different kind of weight. In going against the hemospectrum they had more to lose: their reputation, their status, their way of life... And if the initiative were to fail everyone was at risk, regardless of blood. Highblood privilege was real though. While he appreciated... respected their willingness to fight, the higher bloods could never really grasp what being on the bottom of the spectrum meant.

Suddenly Aerona sidled in closer. The breach in personal space did not go unnoticed. As usual though, Ephias remained straight-faced, and tried to look for a discreet way to recover his distance. It was nothing personal. As he scanned the barren tunnels for an excuse, the redblood posed her next question. He was caught off guard.

“Oh! No, not at all. We're old acquaintances,” he explained, hoping he had interpreted her meaning correctly. “I d-don't... um...” This was not a subject he had anticipated discussing. It was rarely one he even thought about. He sent Wolly a fleeting glance for assistance. The sheep blinked back at him, oblivious.

Aware that he had left his sentence hanging, Ephias hurried on with the conversation. “Do you know many others in the initiative?” He had seen a few faces, but none that he recognised. In the back of his mind, he wondered whether Etsali had come with Vremea after all.

The trio come to a place where black marks scorched the walls, and pieces of the ceiling lay on the floor. Up ahead the debris was worse. Ephias had heard some of what had happened from Milieu but seeing the devastation first hand brought it home. This was what they had be called to do: clean-up. He was reminded of Old Hemisect.

∞ Ephias Sagine

Ephias nodded knowingly at her response. Her laidback attitude, as well as that of the rest of the initiative had made him apprehensive at first, but she at least seemed to understand the gravity of her decision. It was not something to carelessly jump into.

As Aerona brushed her hand across the rubble, Ephias hummed in agreement. He kept his own hands firmly in his pockets, though he turned over a chunk of rock with his boot. It clattered against the stone floor. Behind him, Wolly let out a despairing huff. Once glance around the tunnel and he had flopped down onto his side. Ephias spared him no more than a glance. His attention had been split by Aerona's most recent remark. Was she familiar with this sort of thing then?

Before he could question her, she had moved on. Making a mental note to ask later, Ephias followed. “Ah. Yeah. I... I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of that...” A depressing thought, but honest. Better to realise what he was getting into now, rather than later.

“Sure. I'll try to find some tools. Come on, Wolly.” Looking back over his shoulder, he called to his lusus. The sheep scrambled to his hooves, and without further encouragement bounded down the hall, back the way they had come. “I'll talk to you later er... B-Bandanna?”