@DriveEMOutShe smiled as he talks about his mansion. "That's a very beautiful mansion." She comments. She reaches inside her bag for a notebook and a pen and takes them out. As she listens to his question she puts her face into a neutral expression, smiling a bit as she listens to him. But her mind is spinning at his suggestion. Torturing rebels for information? I mean she was half way into that but wouldn't that put a bad face for the Parliament
"Well...Sure but maybe just keep it on the down low, Samuel?" She stretches out his name, smoothly as if she's done it for years. She had to convince him.

Étoiles stiffened at the new voice and turned around, prepared to pick a fight. She shrunk down at the look in her eyes; the constant reminder of her failure. "Captain Minerva, it's not like-" She stopped as the dagger stabbed the space next to her head. She instantly tensed up and her eyes widened. Okay, I see why Claudia doesn't like her.

As Collin entered the tavern, she limped over to him quickly, hiding behind him in an attempt to escape the gaze of their leader. She looked over his shoulder with a glare at Minerva, heart still stinging from her words. "Is she always like this?" she whispered to him, her lips turning into a frown.

What really got to her was how she was badmouthing Claudia. She gritted her teeth at those few words, hiding a small grumble of annoyance. "For your information, Captain," she said, still hiding behind the blonde boy, "I made it out alive, which is better than no troops at all, right? Miss Claudia is taking care of an unwanted person, possibly a spy." At least, Étoiles hoped she was right about the spy.

@xChrome @Rusalka

Samuel panicked inside, worried that she would be a bit creeped out by his suggestion, so he tried to cover it up. "I don't enjoy it either, but they're corrupting Velorio." He looked down. All of it was true. He didn't enjoy their pain. He only liked fair fights. "Besides, my dad will, ah...hurt...me if I don't come back with at least two pieces of information." He winces, and rubs his back. "And yeah, I wouldn't do it publicly. I'm the poster boy of the Parliament. It would make me look bad."
@ineffable

@DriveEMOut
"I understand. I didn't want to get too deep into this in the start...but it's...changed." Angelia says, looking out the window. She touches his arm lightly. "I'm sad to hear about your father..." And for the first time she means it. If they were normal teenagers...maybe... She stopped thinking about that. "But we have to do what we have to." She states strongly.

Samuel swallowed and stood up. "I don't want to talk about it any more." He walked over to a new seat, and a tear escaped his eye. While he waited, he reloaded his flintlocks. As soon as he saw they had arrived, he stood up briskly and walked away as fast as possible. He strode through the halls of the Temple, ignoring the beautiful rose quartz architecture. He followed the guards into the office of the Chancellor, and looked back for a split second at Angelia, a look of sadness and longing. He turned back around and saluted to the Chancellor.
@ineffable

@xChrome @sharksama

The silence must have meant the mysterious woman was considering Claudia's enticing offer. Claudia awaited her response. Yes, she did intend to give away information concerning the Rebels, but more or less it would be useless in any way to the woman, a woman whom Claudia suspected she had met before. Ah yes, that auburn haired beauty. Her name escaped Claudia at the moment, but she could never forget a pretty face like that.

Upon hearing Collin however, her languid expression faded into one of irritance. "Dammit all..." She cursed under her breath. "Ah, I suppose we will have to cut this meeting short, my dear, but I will await your presence here tomorrow. Who knows. Perhaps I'll get to see more than that pretty face of yours."~ Another sultry giggle before the woman sauntered away swaying her hips seductively. "Ta-ta, my lovely shadow. Oh and...give the Governer my most humble regards."~ A sly smirk, she disappeared behind the corner.

Right as she walked into the tavern though, the warmth had faded, both from her face and the cozy abode she frequented. Minerva, oh how those eyes caught Claudia like the claws of a bird of prey instantly. She shuddered a bit, feeling their vehement gaze pierce right through her flesh striking her heart with fear. The two leaders stood face to face, Claudia answering quietly with a glower, "Oh...it's you."

"Enjoying your night, harlot?" Minerva was quick with the insults, her dark eyes narrowing into sharp daggers she could stab Claudia with. Claudia narrowed her own eyes, biting her lip to quell a fiery retort. "I received your message from Collin, another failure that costed us dearly. Those three men were our finest soldiers!"

Both Claudia and Collin winced at Minerva raising her voice.

"And who is to blame for this folly?" Sternly Minerva resumed, encircling the two, three including Etoiles, as though a hungry feline entrapping a pair of timid mice. "Etoiles of course! She's weak, inexperienced. She has no place on the battlefield! Because of her failure, more men lost their lives so carelessly! If it were up to me, I'd have her stripped and lashed to demoralize her!"

"And then what?" Claudia remarked sharply crossing her arms with a scowl. "Toss her back onto the field of battle suffering from grievous injuries? Injuries both you and the Parliament inflicted?! The poor girl was punished enough, Minerva! I saw what those bastards did to Ettie with my own eyes! Bless the gods she's still alive!"

"And that's why she's weak!" Minerva snapped, nose to nose with the angry Claudia. "You should be slitting her throat for insubordination! Not coddling her like a wee babe! That's why you'll never be leader, Claudia! You don't know how to lead!"

"Well pardon me for having a heart, you ruthless demon! You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, darling!"

"And you can kill more flies with arsenic than honey, you damn whore!" Minerva whirled around yanking the dagger out of the table. "You want to treat the girl's wounds, then fine! Soften her up some more, but she'll be back on the battlefield in three days!"

"She will need more than three days to heal!" Claudia interjected.

"THREE DAYS!" Minerva shouted to the top of her lungs, those dark blotches forming around her eyes...they were a warning for Claudia to back off. "If she's not ready by then, she will be executed! Now, I have important matters to attend to. Don't contact me unless it's urgent!" She stormed off towards the door pulling the hood of her cloak over her head. "And don't think of fucking that spy either!"

*SLAM!*

The door closed behind Minerva with the same amount of force Claudia's fist slammed into the table. That....that woman, oh how she made the other's skin burn with the fires of Hell. Claudia stood in silence, her blue eyes alit with such flames to scorch that loathsome demon. And Minerva had to wonder why most of the troops looked up to the lowly barmaid and not the grizzled veteran.

"...I need a drink..." She heaved a sigh, her bitter features softening somewhat. She looked at the two, Collin and Etoiles, both equally afraid. Warmly Claudia smiled, "Would you two care for anything?"

@DriveEMOut When Samuel stood up, Angelia was surprised. She found herself grabbing for air as he went to sit in another seat, reloading his flintlocks. She could just swear that she saw a flash of sadness and vulnerability in his eyes before it was gone, replaced again by his calculating gaze. She sighs and decides to take a small nap. When they reach their destination she follows Samuel out and tries to match his pace as he comes to a stop outside her father's door. He looks back at her once, a look filled with emotions before he enters. She frowns and comes to the guards stationed outside his room.
"I'm going in." She warns them and bursts into the room, interrupting their conversation

"Hmm... you won't be seeing more than what you can offer I'm afraid. Also, it would be in our best interests that the Governor doesn't know about our meeting for now." Vanessa finished her sentence and darted off into the darkness, hiding her face. She passed a few streets before hailing a carriage to bring her to the Chancellor's office, hopefully the meeting wasn't over yet. The carriage ride was relatively quiet, giving Vanessa some time to think. She was looking forward to the meeting with Claudia, if not for the information, a nice drink in a cozy tavern with beautiful company would do her good. Now all that's left is to think up a report for the Chancellor and the Governor.

It didn't take long for the carriage to arrive at the Temple. She walked down the hall towards the Chancellor's office and saw a young girl roughly Samuel's age busting through the door. "Another young meat in the cauldron of elders" she thought to herself. She quickened her pace and entered the office soon after, standing beside the girl. Vanessa gave her a quick look and turned her gaze back towards her superiors, "My Chancellor, Governor, hope I'm not too late." She saluted and took a look at the Chancellor then back to the girl, "Ah, this must be your daughter, a pleasure to meet you."

@ineffable@Rusalka@DriveEMOut

@xChrome@ineffable@DriveEMOut

Minerva's meeting with Claudia went as typical, escalating into a full blown squabble between the two. Here she was trying to command her army, and all that cunt could worry about was getting another ditzy whore into her bed.

She scowled at the thought, scaling and vaulting over the rooftops of the city, sprinting at speeds believed unreachable by a mere mortal, but...was Minrrva ever?

There it stood in the distance, that god damned eyesore looming over the poor districts. Twas a monolith of corruption, greed, and the abuse of power, the Great Wall of the Capital City. Minerva stood atop the belfry of a lowly church nearby. Years it had been since she was on the other side of those towering marble stones, well...seconds since she first crept in to assassinate a few pompous fat cats who supported the Chancellor and his nefarious Reich. And she was back again, this time....with help.

She descended leaping from the belfry of the church as the massive bronze bell tolled mournfully in the quiet of the eve, her black cloak unfurling as if the wings of a raven. She landed gracefully in the middle of the street, dark, living shadows engulfing her daunting figure in an endless black.

She strolled casually up to the city gate. Two guards stood watch over the gilded barred gates. They rose their rifles to the dark figure, barking, "Halt! What business have you in the Capital?"

Minerva spoke not a word, staring at the two...easily frightened men with dead, empty eyes. Suddenly, she raised her hand, a dark tendril shooting forth grabbing one of the guards by their frail neck. A sickening crack of bones followed. "My god!" The second uttered frightened raising his rifle at Minerva. The tendril let loose of the dead man and grabbed the other man's gun yanking it away with little effort. Her other hand rose producing a small crossbow.

The bolt shot deep into the man's throat. No screams, just the gurgling of his own blood as the poison seeped into his veins. Minerva holstered the crossbow, then, like a ghost she passed right through the heavily sealed gates, a wisp of black mist trailing after her. Once more she rose her hand, conjuring fort a swirling orb of mist. She whispered something, an eldricht, incoherrent language. The orb, before her very eyes the darkness transformed into the shape of a cawing black raven. "Go." Minerva commanded the bird.

From her hand it flappef its wings and soared into the night cawing loudly. Through its beady eyes Minerva saw the city passing beneath. The raven cawed again landing in an open windowsill...the window of the Chancellor's office.

Minerva's winged companion gave her a front row to the meeting, the many faces she recognized, the pompous Governor, the fat, bald, and equally arrogant Chancellor, the Enforcers led by their smug Captain Vanessa, and....who was this?

Minerva rose an eyebrow amused at what, or rather who she discovered present at the meeting. "So that's the Chancellor's daughter hmm?"

Samuel turned, shocked. He looked between the Chancellor and Angelia. He coughed. "Sir, may your daughter and I talk for a moment?" Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Angelia's hand and went down an unpopulated part of the hall. "Alright, why do you actually want to know me? I doubt you just volunteered to be my partner. I also don't think that someone like you would get forced to do it."
@ineffable

@xChrome@DriveEMOut@ineffable

Minerva drew back her raven and continued down the streets towards the Temple. Just as the wall surrounding it, the tall, gilded mansion stood tall and proud, less proud and more arrogant as Minerva would put it. She brandished her daggers upon hearing footsteps near her on the cobblestone streets. Apparently a few of the city watchmen were warned to her presence. They drew their swords, surrounding Minerva on all sides. "Alright ma'am. Drop the daggers, and come with us quietly. We'd hate for this to get violent."

"Hmph. So would I." Minerva looked at them with a deadpanned expression. With merely a flick of her wrist, the guardsmen fell dead around her, each pierced through the heart by a snaking black tendril retreating into her dark cloak. The woman pressed on as though nothing had happened.

"It's been a few months it seems," Juno sighed, holding the reigns of her horse as she stood on ground. "Surely I expected some changes from your letters but..." She put them away and looked to the massacre in front of the great wall. Two guards laid dead in front of her, to think they would be treated like that without even a chance.

"Barbarians aren't they," she said as she stepped over the lifeless guards and closed their eyes to be given some decency. "You tried, good sirs. You deserve a rest."
She rose from the dead bodies and climbed onto her horse, taking one last look at the lifeless guards before tugging the reigns. "It seems," she mumbled. " I'm going to be late." She clucked her tongue and her horse began moving. The city was still as great as ever, compared to the poorer districts. Juno stumbled through finding her way until she finally reached her destination.

"I'm afraid I am late." Juno climbed down from her horse and paid a civilian one of her coin purses to park her horse to a close stable. "Keep the extra, my gift to you," she winked and walked off to an inn and slept.

@xChrome@Rusalka@DriveEMOut
"Greetings, My name is Angelia Coreman...nice to meet you too." She says in response, giving a small polite smile. She gets startled, however by Samuel's request to talk to her alone and him pulling her into the hall. He bombarded her with questions. She just stretched a lazy smile throughout it all and raised an eyebrow at his tone. All that vulnerability last time had disappeared and her facade walls were coming up fast.
"I'm fighting for the Parliament, Samuel...you're fighting for the Parliament. Plus you're the youngest Governor, around my age and crazy talented with flintlocks and violence. What says for me not to be your partner?" She cocks a hip and gives a small grin. Maybe someone could tell it was forced and that her mind was whirring with things to say but she keeps her mouth shut until further notice.

@ineffable
Samuel shakes his head. "Should've known you were going to try to cover things up." He sighs, and starts to slowly walk back down the hall. He checks his weapons just in case a Rebel were to break into the meeting, and stops. What if they were going to punish him? After all, he had left without permission. He saw the door down the hall and instead turned back around. "Listen. I'm going to give you one chance to tell the truth, and if you don't then I'm going to tell your Father that your traits were undesirable for a mission partner. I doubt he will decline my request." His eyes were hard.

@DriveEMOut
"Either way, Sam, My father can do anything he likes. I'm his daughter after all and in his mind...I get everything I want." Angelia's voice was a bit shaky. She could never get over the looks of that vulnerable Samuel, the one time when she could see all his emotions. "But I can tell you that I feel strongly about keeping my, and my family's leverage on Velorio and there is no way in hell that I'm going to give that up." Her voice grows stronger. "All other reasons are mine to keep...you have your reasons, I have my reasons, you have your secrets, I have my secrets and until we are closer. They remain hidden. That's all the information I can give you now, Sam. Hope it's to your liking. Or not." And with that she spins on her heel and enters her father's office, face wiped off of any emotions and eyes hard and brave.

Samuel curses lightly to himself and sits himself against the wall. He pulled out a small clockwork messaging raven, and writes on a slip of paper. "Father. No wait, go find Mother." As the raven flew through the window, it chirped. It had no idea what was actually going on inside Samuel's head. All it knew is that it was doing its job, and it would be rewarded. What it actually held in its talons said this: I messed it up. I'm on my way home now. Samuel pulled an owl mask from the inside of his coat, and strapped it on. He walked out of the building, and strode down the streets. He pulled out an even smaller clockwork dove. "Find Angelia." He gave it a piece of paper, saying: Meet me at the Capitol Market tomorrow.
@ineffable

@DriveEMOut
Angelia was pacing around in her house biting on her nails and throwing daggers at the walls when she heard a tap at the window. She walked towards the window and pulled it open. A small clockwork dove was perching on the window sill, it holds in its talons a message and as she slowly takes it out and reads it. She had asked for an excuse in the meeting room and had come back home, mind spinning with images of Samuel's hauntingly sad eyes and her father's harsh cruel gaze. When she finishes reading the message she rips out a piece of paper from the notepad in her bag and writes on it, gesturing for the dove to wait.
Would tonight be more beneficial? She sends off the dove and sighs.

Samuel was sitting at home, in his more relaxed attire, when the dove came back. It hopped through a small flap in the window meant specifically for it, and gave him the note. He pulled another piece of paper. Sure, just make sure no one sees you. They'll consider it a weakness. Meet at the roof of the Centre. Don't tell anybody! He pulled on his owl mask and his black hooded cloak, and locked the door of his bedroom. He opened the window and climbed out onto the roof. He jumped the narrow gaps between the houses, heading for the Centre of the Capitol's trade.
@ineffable

@DriveEMOut
When Angelia receives the note she instantly heads over to her closet, pulling out a black vest top and black leggings, She puts on a grey cloak, pulls up the hood and heads out of the house, locking the door behind her and nodding at the guards at the front gate. They barely blinked an eye at her strange attire, it was their job to guard and not question. She catches a carriage and hops in, calling to the driver to bring her to the Centre. When he gets there she throws a couple of coins his way and walks swiftly through the bustle of people. She reaches the Centre's stairway and makes her way upwards towards the roof. She steps out of the door at the top and closes it before her, feeling the wind blow her hair back and kiss her light skin.

Vanessa stood awkwardly in the Chancellor's office as Samuel and Angelia headed out on their own, though only Angelia returned. However she excused herself not long later. "Dear Chancellor, I think it's best that I return another time with the Governor. But rest assured that we have recovered the scythe and took out several Rebel hideouts and their leaders." Vanessa excused herself and took a carriage back to her home for some well needed rest. It was a rather long night for her and all those spell casting really tired her out.