Welcome to Gaia! ::

Vyn was nervous.

This was often the case when he met with the Commodore. He told himself he shouldn’t be, that his time in the Vanguard had offered him plenty of opportunities to acclimate himself to the Commodore’s presence. Being in the Dark Kingdom didn’t even disturb him anymore, though he didn’t know that he would ever grow fond of the people and beasts that often populated the castle there. The house the Commodore had been utilizing felt safe enough that Vyn hardly noticed what lurked outside its walls.

Still, his nerves would not settle. He stepped off of the warp pad and shot a wide-eyed look toward Aliez and Andreiya.

“Tell me this isn’t what I think it is,” he whispered to them. “Tell me he just wants to check up on us again.”

Surely there had to be plenty of reasons for the Commodore to request to see the three of them together. Maybe it was easier to discuss reports as a group. Or perhaps he had questions about Andreiya’s project, which Vyn and Aliez were helping with. Maybe he was bored and wanted company. (Unlikely, but one could never be too certan.)

Andreiya fidgeted as he joined them. “I did send him a report last night,” he said quietly. “But it wasn’t anything bad.” He seemed insistent and his eyes flicked between the two of them as if he were desperate for them to believe him.

“I told him how much progress we have made. And how you two were invaluable to my research, and I couldn’t have done any of it without you. I’m sorry, I update him once a week. I was very proud of the most recent data. And Aliez’s cream has been sustainable and effective. The paste was just as effective as my source stone, I’ve been using it for any scrape. Last night I used it to completely reattach a leaf, I–”

He looked apologetic. “I might have gotten carried away.”

A little voice in Vyn’s brain (which sounded very much like his own, but less proper and more manic) filled his consciousness with a quiet, drawn out screech of… shock? Delight? Disbelief? All of the above?

First, there was the apron. Then there were the pastries. Vyn turned to Aliez, who did a lot of cooking, hoping to see a similar expression on his friend’s face, if only so he didn’t feel quite so alone in his awe. He turned to Andreiya, who had offered a perfectly logical explanation for their being there (one Vyn could not fault him for at all, being just as excited over the progress they’d made), but who certainly couldn’t have expected this any more than Vyn or Aliez could have.

Then, at the Commodore’s invitation, Vyn took a seat in the middle of the couch, leaving enough space on either side of him for Aliez and Andreiya. He liked the comfort and security he found between his friends.

He took a pastry for himself, hands careful, almost reverent.

“Of course, Sir, anytime,” Vyn said, with utmost sincerity. “Thank you for these. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble. I… It’s been a while since I’ve had anything of home. I miss it.”

He took a bite and could have wept, but didn’t, because that would be embarrassing. A taste of home was most welcome after such a trying year, and the fact that it came to them by the Commodore’s own hands made it even more meaningful.

The confidence that Andreiya had rapidly diminished because, while he’d been sure that this might have had something to do with the report and their progress, this hadn’t been what he expected. He sat on the couch when the other two did, in awe that the Commodore was capable of something so domestic. And he was shameless about it!

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach and he lifted one of the tarts. It was a good thing they were cool enough to eat because he hadn’t been able to restrain himself from taking a bite and–

Oh, he melted.

He wanted to devour the rest of it, to have more, but–

He didn’t want to seem too eager, but he was. It didn’t just taste like home, for a split second he felt like he was home.

He chewed the first bite quietly and tried to reel himself in. “Thank you,” he said, but there were still questions in his eyes. He doubted the Commodore had brought them here for snacks, but instead of asking what he’d wanted, he just took another bite.

Vyn struggled not to show any sign of sadness, doubt, or unease. He missed home terribly; the pastries were both a comfort and a reminder. He had no intention of returning to Velencya until they had a solution, or had exhausted all of their options here on Earth, but he could not quell the sense of homesickness that often rose in him.

He thought, sometimes, that he wasn’t working hard enough — that he could do more, that he could do better, somehow. To hear the Commodore praise them with such confidence… Vyn was pleased to have earned it, yet half convinced it was undeserved.

It seemed there would always be conflict in his own thoughts.

“Thank you, Sir,” Vyn said again — appreciatively, because it seemed impolite to be contrary. Even if he had doubts about himself, he knew for certain that Aliez and Andreiya had been doing their utmost in service to the Vanguard, and to Velencya.

Vyn took another bite of his pastry. He chewed slowly, contemplatively, then swallowed and lifted his gaze to the Commodore, questioning.

“I don’t mean to assume, but… this special occasion doesn’t have anything to do with Andreiya’s report, does it? Or perhaps it does, in a roundabout way. He certainly deserves praise for his work. I’ve been very pleased to assist him with it. But I also get the feeling that… you wanted to speak with us about something else.”

Lyndin watched the three of them for a moment before he sat up a little straighter in his chair. He was glad to see them enjoying the pastries, but he wasn’t going to keep them in any sort of suspense.

“It does, a bit,” Lyndin said, though a part of him almost sounded apologetic. He knew what they’d been through, and he knew what he was asking them. He knew that some wounds had yet to close and, even if he was doing everything in his power to make things right, it was a still a journey.

“You are correct, Vyn. I know the last time I had the three of you here, it was for a promotion. I understand why you might expect I wanted the three of you again. In that sense, I am predictable, I suppose. I did want to bring you all here so we could discuss your future. I mean it when I say that I have been impressed by you three, and my gratitude for your service to Velencya is endless. I will not foist more responsibilities on you, but I have taken time to consider this. It’s been on my mind for a while now. I admire you three. If I were in your shoes, I don’t know what this ordeal would have done to me. I don’t know who it would have made me. I only know that there were times in my life when I could have made a difference if I’d had more power. I think back to them sometimes. I wonder if things would have progressed as they had.”

His lips pressed together in great thought, but he didn’t allow himself to reminisce.

It was simply a resolution in his heart.

“I look at how hard you all work. Your research. Your commitment to each other, to the Vanguard. I think about what you’ve been through, and what I wish I could spare you from going through again. I don’t know that I am enough to be everything the Vanguard needs. Here on Earth, the demands are different. There are paths I cannot follow. Solutions I cannot dream. But you are living a different life than I have. You carry the heart of Velencya in your chest while carving a new future for us all. And, I have faith in that future. I know you’re working with Velencya in mind. I know how much it means to you, how much your people mean to you. And I can’t help but think, if there comes a day when you needed more power, I don’t want you to have been without it.”

It meant more than he could possibly put into words, knowing that the Commodore admired them. Although since returning from Astraya, Aliez recognized that he had been withdrawing from the others. Even Vyn and Andreiya he kept his thoughts from.

Because what if he said something that made them hate him, too?

Only when he tasted blood in his mouth did Aliez realize that he was biting down on the inside of his cheek instead of the pastry the Commodore had so thoughtfully made for them. And Aliez knew that granting them more power would be no easy task.

And for that, he almost protested.

But he also didn’t want the Commodore to think that he didn’t respect his judgment or decisions, so he went back to chewing on his cheek instead. It kept him quiet for the most part.

Maybe a few months ago he would have felt like he was on the same level as Andreiya and Vyn, but now…

What kind of heart of Velencya could he possibly carry when he felt so worthless?

“It would be an honor, sir,” Aliez again repeated Vyn, although he realized he was doing it a moment too late. “Vyn and Andreiya have both helped me with my training. I would not be here without them.”

Oh… he didn’t like how flat his words sounded when he meant what he said. He cleared his throat and held the pastry to his mouth to make it look like he was just enjoying it.

Lyndin looked between the three once more, and finally his smile softened slightly. His brows crinkled, just a bit, and the shadow of apology hid on his face. “I am sorry,” he said after a moment. “I know this isn’t entirely fair to you all. I know these are a lot of changes, and it is more to ask of you. But I don’t think you see yourselves the way I do. I think you are harsher on yourselves than you need to be. You are aware of where you can improve, and you don’t hold yourselves above others. You hold yourselves to an impossible standard. And, while I respect that, too, trust me when I say that I am confident you are a good fit for this choice. It is not out of desperation that I ask this. Although,” he looked at Aliez, “I am trying to be better about my health. I am used to working with a team, and having people who I can trust. People who take this as seriously as I do.”

He was still sitting up in his chair, but it was clear that this was something he was taking seriously, and something he had put a lot of thought into. He didn’t falter or stumble in his delivery, and he spoke with sincerity and conviction.

“You work well together. You defend each other, you support each other. You want to see each other, and the Vanguard, succeed. We are not a group of individuals, we are a team. You have never looked out for yourselves above the others, or done something to put yourself before them. Every chance you get, you each remind me how valuable you see the other. Andreiya’s report was peppered with praise, and even now, Vyn–you speak highly of Aliez and Andreiya, and Aliez, you do the same. If you cannot see that you are deserving, trust in the faith your friends have. Know that they value you as I do. And you aren’t in this alone. You have each other, and you have me. I am not going to expect you to start handing out orders or do anything outside of your comfort zone. I’ll want to give you time to adapt to your new powers, anyway. But, I do think your differences compliment each other. I think you bring out each other’s strengths. And, I think, you will continue to grow. And I’ll be here to support you through all of it. I’m not sending you into this alone. I want you to have everything you need to succeed.”