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Leucite had needed some air. Well it was less about needing the air and more about getting away from the steadily growing pile of paperwork that now awaited him in back in his office in Negaspace. He had known from the start that managing a training facility would be difficult, but the cost to his time was a bit more than he had expected. Still, a good number of recruits had him convinced that he was heading in the right direction, and that his request to have Queen Laurelite model for the recruitment posters had been well advised.

He could feel the two auras, one a Generals, the other a captains if he was feeling it right. It was good to reach out and communicate with other Generals, especially now that he was heading the Training Corps. If nothing else, to see if they might have some recruits they might think needed the shoring up... or if nothing else, to see if there were any skill they might want to pass on.

It was with some surprised when he arrived and realized just who the other General was. He had spoken with her somewhat earlier, at the meeting, but had vanished to deal with things in his own way. Bowing his head to both her and that Captain present he gave a small smile.

"Xenotime, what a pleasure to see you out and about," He said, keeping his tone polite and civil. "How goes the hunting?"

Her attention on the approaching power, she wasn't aware of how very close her captain had been leaning in until she felt a soft brush of lips nipping against the skin at the side of her neck. It made her shiver, eyes closing briefly as Leucite came into view. She was, perhaps, a bit too close to her subordinates. A little too intimate and attached to them in the eyes of her fellow generals, but no one could ever question their loyalty to her. Which was, after all, her intent.

The hand that had been resting on Natrolite's shoulder moved as she felt a finger gliding across the front of her clothing, wrapping softly around his wrist and lowering it back down to their side. "Leucite." She smiled sweetly up at him, tone polite.

She'd actually expected to see him at the meeting of generals and agents that had gathered at Stroud's home, but he'd been conspicuously absent. It'd made her wonder, and that curiosity remained now. He'd been dismissed, same as the rest of him, but word around the rift suggested he'd sought the general-queen out after the fact. It seemed such a strange move for someone that had been so against what had happened during the meeting; made her wonder.

She kept her curiosity to herself, though. "Goes very well." They'd already met Natrolite's quota for the evening, and then some, but then that wasn't exactly difficult with her patrolling with him.

"And yourself?" Questions and curiosity aside though, she did wish him, and every other officer within the Negaverse working towards their collective goals, all the best.

There wasn't struggle put up against his hand being moved, instead the man relaxed back. Blues traveling towards Leucite and meeting the look the general was giving him head on. What the ******** was this shitheels problem? Ever the confident a*****e Natrolite shifted back and leaned against the wall his general was sitting on, folding arms over chest.

Just listening to the exchange for the most part and looking far, far to amused by the annoyance of the other general. The conversation turned to himself and the blue eyed man lifted a brow. Chuckling under his breath. Who the ******** did this guy think he was anyhow? Protocol, etiquette? The ******** did he want to have him bow at the waist and kiss his ******** ring finger? A roll up of eyes and he was looking back up to Xenotime.

A look of mischief flashing that said stop me before its too late if you want.

Leucite wasn't sure what he disliked more, the tone that she used, or her argument that they were militaristic but not a military. They carried ranks, they fought a war. What else were they if not a Militant Organization? Moreover, he found her entire argument complete heresy, he could feel this teeth, grind together as his jaw tightened the more and more she spoke. He did however, try his best to keep his voice level and steady, but he already knew that this was going to come to a head sooner or later and so he launched his counter argument.

"With all due respect, you are completely wrong," Leucite said with a flat tone. "The loyalty of our subordinates should be to Metallia first, then to the Negaverse, then the chain of command... Which puts Queen Laurelite and the General Sovereigns before you or I."

"I do know, what complete and utter loyalty feels like, and I will agree with you that that is earned, but it is STILL no excuse for allowing anything resembling insubordination. You bring up that meeting and respect as if we were not in the wrong with our actions. But I assure you, we made a mistake, that night, one that I have gone out of my way to rectify for myself. In the heat of the moment, we all allowed our pride to get the better of ourselves and we willingly hoisted ourselves upon our own petards. Hessonite gave us the rope and we gleefully hung ourselves with it. That said, I would not change what I did, for it has opened up my eyes to see that I am needed elsewhere in this organization."

"But I still spoke with the General-Queen. I still apologized for bucking the chain of command. Because if you think we are not a military then you are again, dead wrong. We are Metallia's hand in this world, we are the sword which she strikes down those who would defile this planet. Do not think for a moment that, that does not come without cost. We must maintain order and discipline in our ranks, or we are no better than the enemy we fight."

"You say that your subordinates will die for you, but I will ask a question in return. Do you trust your subordinates to strike you down should you ever lose your way? Should you become a rogue element, a rabid dog unfit for anything but to be put down?" There was a fire in Leucite's eyes now, an anger that simmered very near the surface as he allowed himself to make his point.

"Because I know mine would, in an instant, without question, and without mercy. That is what true loyalty is, Xenotime... The willingness to do what needs be done."

She could have gotten angry at the other general's response, defensive, but it was a little hard, taking him seriously, despite his so serious demeanor. She just couldn't place herself in his over sized boots, their experiences within the Negaverse were too different. "With all due respect, she parroted back to him, voice still calm and over all pleasant. "You do not lead the Negaverse, and what you consider to be right or wrong only holds weight among your subordinates."

She watched Natrolite flick the cigarette butt at the other man, paused in her own retort to hear what he had to say, and seemed over all approving of it. He got the job done, that was what they were here for, what they had been recruited for. Whatever that job may be.

But then it was back to her own thoughts, her own opinions. She'd let Leucite say his fill, now he would hear her own. "We are an army, in the simplest of forms, and an army is not a military." They did not attend a boot camp, they did not have their identities striped away by cookie cutter hair cuts and uniforms. They were a wilder thing, a more brutal, violent force. The two could not be compared.

"And order and discipline are not blind. By your own admission." Had he realized his own hypocrisy? Likely not. "Where need demands action against our superiors, which you've just stated it does, on occasion, is that not just another form of insubordination?"

She snorted softly. "If I behaved as Hessonite did in that meeting, erratic, violent, and without order, I would expect a similar reaction from those serving below me, because I would have been acting out of line for what is best for the Negaverse.." The general-queen had crossed lines the eve, and nothing anyone could say would convince the fighter otherwise.

torvil

cheekiebirdiee

Perhaps he should have been paying a little more attention to the body language of the conversation if anything. But as it was, it was too late. Leucite was upon him and before he could even gather a reaction for that, a burning sharp pain rippled through body. There was a brief moment of dark around the corners of eyes as his body folded around the knee in stomach.

Then the old one two came with a strike to the face. His head turned with the force and lips spat out a bright red line. Teeth had cut against cheek from the strike and he was tasting copper, for once the taste unwelcome. Before he could stop himself Natrolite was hitting the wall on a hard thud and ******** son of a - nope hurt to bad to come up with a colorful curse.

Leucite had not come for a fight. A debate, at best, an argument, at worst; but a fight? No, he had not been girded in near enough righteousness for that. The eyes had noticed the movement as she pushed off the wall, he had been looking right at her as he'd spoken - shouted - really - and so her movements were telegraphed plainly to him.

They were both trained fighters, he could see it in her stance - had heard her state her experience at the meeting. He was no fool. This was a fight that could end badly for both. So instead of meeting aggression with aggression, he simply did what was smartest in the situation.

Her kick found air, not from a block, or a well timed last second dodge. No, Leucite took full advantage of the powers granted to him by his rank, and just as Xenotime had teleported after the kick, his own had vanished, reappearing a few feet further back, summoning his own weapon even as he came into the world, spinning with the appearance of meeting her blow with the haft of his own weapon.

But again, there was no impact, as Leucite ended his feint with another teleport even a few more feet further back from their starting place. His spear was held defensively, his eyes locking on Xenotime before he spoke again.

"I don't want to fight you," He said, voice tense, a taunt line ready to snap if need be. "I will chalk that up to poor judgement. I will ignore that you tried to strike me for doing what you refuse to. Stand down, and I will forget this happened. Otherwise. I will defend myself accordingly." He said, his voice taking on a tone of warning.

"Stand down."