Welcome to Gaia! ::

As the duo made their way through the suffocating tangle of trees, Byakko kept her eyes fixated in the shadows beyond them, ever alert for any signs of movement. She mused to herself how they had fled the underground tunnels only to be enveloped in yet another formed by branches and thorns. The terrain was still preferable to open ground, she supposed, but the mutantblood had never dared stepped foot this deep into Alternia's swamp. No one had, really- it was uncharted territory. No troll's land. It was the perfect place to draw the military into, but what dangers aside from the Queen's army lurked within the bog? Byakko wasn't keen on finding out.

Her geta crunched through the underbrush in time with her paced breath. Occasionally the mutant would stop to smear some of her blood on some leaves or a low hanging branch, but the two kept a steadied jog, pressing deeper into the unknown. Akko was glad Stryke had stumbled upon the trio- splitting up in the thin, twisting maze was more tactical than trickling through single file, but with a party of three it hadn't been exactly plausible. While Byakko was unyieldingly focused at the task at hand, there was a constant pull of worry over Maneki's safety. Maybe she should have stayed with him? No- he was safer with Zeff. The pinkblood knew she'd be one of their main targets. She swallowed down a hard lump of guilt.

Wiping away the beads of sweat forming on her forehead with the back of her hand, Byakko glanced over to meet Stryke's face for the first time since they had split from the others. During her short time spent with Kursha, she had witnessed Stryke repeatedly try to approach the greenblood only to be shot down. At the time she had brushed it off as nothing more than a squabble between friends, but now... now she reflected. How close had they been? She found herself wanting to ask Stryke questions herself, but they seemed hardly appropriate. Given the circumstances, his veneer seemed mostly unphased. She also had to wonder- did he not care about her mutation, or was he reserving to air his opinion at a more appropriate time? Maybe that's what he wanted to ask about. Akko nodded suspiciously- as long as they kept their voices down, the thicket would likely muffle most of their conversation.

"Mmm, sure. What's on your thinkpan?"

As soon as the words 'pink blood' left Stryke's lips, Byakko's expression darkened. There it was. Reaching to tug the hood lower over her face to hide her trembling scowl, she ripped her eyes from him, staring instead into the skeletal tangle of trees that surrounded them. His curiosity was more than validated by this point, but she had always loathed the night this conversation would enviably come up with someone- she had lucked out with Zeffer's lack of interest about her mutation. Her yellowblooded companion was much more inquisitive.

She stopped a few strides ahead of him, still staring out into the shadows as he spoke. Shifting her kanabo across her shoulders, Akko turned slightly so he couldn't make out her face, refusing to make eye contact.

"It didn't seem relevant." She responded brusquely, falling silent. For a moment, there was nothing but the constant buzz of the swarm of insects hovering the stagnant swamp water. Truth be told, when her pink blood had been displayed for all to see, one of her greatest fears had been realized. Byakko never had any intentions on sharing her secret with anyone. It had been a leap of faith to even reveal her name and face to the others... adding her mutation would have gone against everything she was ever taught.

Who you are should decide your place in society- not what you bleed. Byakko practiced what she preached. Trolldad had vehemently ingrained the importance of never letting anyone find out. But still- should. That was they keyword there, wasn't it? Stryke wasn't misplaced with his concerns.

She sucked in a breath and continued, voice low. "What I mean to say is... being in the Initiative puts you on the military's cull list, regardless of who happens to be commanding it at the time." She needn't remind him of the dangers- Stryke had seen it first hand, and was well aware what had happened to the rebel forces that had come before them. Zhuque. Fidgeting with the emblem of the rebellion's phoenix pinned to her chest, reminiscent of her dead guardians own's symbol, Akko turned to finally peek back at him from under her hood.

"I refuse to let the efforts of those who have fallen go to waste. They died for all of us, trying to bring about a world where everyone is equal- and no one even knows about their sacrifices. I stand for the same reasons they did." It would have been far easier for the mutantblood to hermit away forever, than struggle against the empire for place where trolls like her were accepted. Byakko's motivations had never been self serving- although she supposed that's part of why Trolldad fought.

"Thank me? What for?" She was baffled, given their situation. She unwittingly had led him into a trap- twice, now. "If anything, I should be thanking you."

She perked as Stryke said 'pinkblood' for the second time. Not mutant- pink. Even Zeffer had referred to it as such. Stryke's chosen words were very much so intentional. Akko tilted her head slightly, squinting down at him. "Mmm..." Merely humming lowly in agreement, Byakko followed up with a short huff. She was clearly disinterested in talking much about herself; especially now with the military hot on their heels. It should have been obvious enough how arduous her life had been, even without her involvement in the rebellion.

"Flaunting my blood hue to new recruits was not an option. Teal seemed to be the safest middle ground, that's all." Not that she had chosen her disguise- that had been Zhuque's decision. It was inconspicuous enough to not draw attention from highbloods as she moved around Alternia, yet humble enough that most lowbloods didn't treat her with much distaste. Fidgeting with the hem of her robes, Akko shrugged. "Being hemoanonymous all the time would have built mistrust." She broke her gaze from Stryke once more, well aware of the heavy irony present in her words. As always, Akko's expression was deadpan, although she shuffled to anxiously rub at her upper arm.

"You really don't need to thank me. The Initiative has always worked collectively... I didn't even form it, I just represented them." Because she had to. Because Trolldad asked her to. Her claws dug through her robes as the faces of the adult rebels flashed through her mind. Every single last one of them dead, save the self exiled Qinlon.

"Ever since Errade ******** everything up, that means us. It's trolls like you who give the rebellion a purpose in the first place. There wouldn't even be a Pheonix Initiative anymore if it wasn't for the handful of you who stayed- like I said, I should be thanking you." Byakko met his eyes again, her own softened in sincere gratitude. "We'll call it even, hmm?"

Looking in the direction Stryke had gestured, she responded with a nod. "I guess we'll need to go in single file. Try to stay close," with that, the rebel leader drew her kanabo, turned on one heel, and led them into the tangle of vines.

leon_a_darkangel