Setting
Default Location for Kith and Kin
Minimap
northwest |
north |
northeast |
west |
You are here. |
east |
southwest |
south |
southeast |
Earth is a part of 
Kith and Kin.
2 Characters Here
Miiko Miya [418] "Now we are here, we live in this moment."
Prisca Hart [418] "The echoes of the past still resound in my heart."
Start Character Here »
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
They were very much in a bind, weren't they? These armored soldiers - not to mention Rose's injury, this one was going to be tough. But they couldn't just back down, now that they were finally here. Stella was very tense, the grip on her flag strong and steady and Rose too, with her rapier, was looking for any weakness in the heavy armor that they could take advantage of. Finally it was Miiko who thought of something and with a thunk, a piano had crushed one. "What the hell was that?" One of them cried out in alarm. "We'll make the bitches pay for killing our friend! Violate them until they-" Rose winked at Miiko and dashed forward, predicting the sword. So she perfectly aimed her rapier's point to go right through the hole in he helmet, stabbing out the eye, the the tip entering the brain.
Meanwhile Stella whirled her flag, then used it as a distraction to jump to the piano. Taking inspiration from Miiko's genius Stella tapped the piano and then herself, and they were both teleported high up above. "Time to die, Republic scum!" Stella laughed as she crushed another with the same technique Miiko had used. There were two more left and they weren't sure what to do, just shouting out threats that they would never get to fulfill. Rose lunged forward to stab but then her foot slipped due to sudden pain in her back and she fell. The man laughed. "Die!" He roared, swinging his axe down hard enough to split Rose's head - if it wasn't for Stella stabbing him through the chink in his armor, right at the armpit, Rose would have certainly died. "And dad called you the strongest." Stella said with a hint of scorn, finishing off the last one with the poor overworked piano.
"Dad, we're at the Atrium, we've sent the soldiers back to the boat." Stella reported, she gave a thumb up to both Rose and Miiko and without a word set off to look for the tiara. "...We've got some dead but we made sure to bring back all of the remains." Rose was panting, using Miiko's shoulder to pull herself back up to her feet. "You're a genius." Rose praised Miiko, if it wasn't for the piano they would have been in trouble. "Good work, Miiko!" Stella's eyes suddenly lit up and she ran off. It had to be the Tiara, so Rose gave chase, she needed to see this with her own eyes, she needed to confirm this once and for all. And there it was, Stella was holding a tiara with a star emblem on the front, it was glowing with energy and then...
Pigtails, naked, it was Essie in all ways. Somehow, against all odds, Essie was here. She smiled at Stella, holding out her hand. "Hello, Caster. I am the Star, Essie, and I'm your Spirit from now on." With that, a very bitter smile grew on Essie's face as she looked at Prisca. "...Well, with my sister there, I guess I don't need to explain anything, do I?" Stella was overjoyed to have a Spirit of her own now. "I'm Stella, this is Miiko and her Spirit." Stella of course didn't buy her name as Rose for one second, and she was right. "E-Essie." The Martyr choked, unable to look at the shining star in the eye. "I'm surprised you're here, sister." Essie was nothing like the gentle and kind Essie of the past. "Someone who killed all of our friends and family, what lies did you spout to make these people accept you, Prisca?" She pointed to her neck and smiled. "You even killed me, remember, you watched me die with those same eyes."
It was the reunion Prisca both wanted with all of her heart... and dreaded more than anything.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
The walk back to the boat was, for all intents and purposes, uneventful. "Who is that? Is that your sister? Do you know her? She looks kind of like you!" Miiko's mouth was running at a mile a minute, wanting to know every detail about this new Essie character. Stella, in the meantime, was beaming, seeming happier than ever as she proudly wore the star tiara, which looked nice in her vibrant red hair. Miiko of course had not listened to a word of what Essie was saying, therefore she inquired everything to Rose, who did not seem too keen on answering Miiko's questions. "Hey, we should have a party when we get back! It's our first mission together with Stella and it'll also be a welcome party to the new spirit." Miiko stowed her goggles in her jacket pocket, it had begun to rain but they could not run due to the injury in Rose's back.
"We should get you to the Doctor first thing, but there'll probably be a wait." Stella had offered Essie her jacket to shield her from the rain and for, um, modesty. Miiko was the last to get on the boat, behind Rose when her shirt was grabbed and she was pulled backwards. "Hey, let me go!" It was a Republic soldier, the barrel of their gun pressed into the side of Miiko's head. "Move and the kid gets it," he began to walk backwards into the jungle. "Try any of your tricks and I'll shoot." With the hand that was not pushing the gun into her temple, he squeezed her throat, closing her airway. "R-Ro-Rose he-help," they disappeared into the foliage, Miiko's rose necklace getting stuck on a branch. "Come on!" He tugged, the necklace breaking, the plastic rose fluttering towards the ground. It wasn't broken, however, the chain to the necklace that Miiko kept it on was.
A situation such as this had to be approached cautiously, one could not just storm in recklessly when there were guns involved. At last Miiko was dropped at the foot of Lise and Pablo, who both watched her curiously. Sam turned bright pink when he saw her and looked away, shuffling off to take care of a sudden imaginary problem. "Well, well, looks like we caught ourselves a tour guide." Pablo winked, lifting Miiko up by the back of her shirt and setting her on her feet. "Stay away from me!" Miiko yelled, running back towards the forest but a line of Republic soldiers stopped her. She imagined the plastic rose, quickly summoning it, but as soon as the rose touched her hand Sam grabbed it and placed it in his pocket. "Just listen for now," he said very quietly. "Rebel scum!" Sam spoke a bit louder, raising a hand, Pablo stopped him. "Now, now, it's just a kid." He said, the gesture gentle.
"Let me go!" Pablo shook his head, "we just want to ask you a few questions." Miiko shook her head, "I won't answer them!" She screamed, clutching her wand. If she could uncap it and stab the closest Republic soldier then perhaps she could get away? But Sam had Rose, Miiko needed Rose back from him. "Give it back!" Miiko yelled, running at him. She pounded her fists against his thigh, but Sam only pushed her back. "Look kid, we just want to ask questions. Then you can go." Not likely, Miiko knew, because she was a light bearer and they had all seen her use her magic.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
"Stop!" Nino suddenly shouted, wheeling herself out. Kenna, who had recently vomited because of all the dead, the injured, the limbs that they recovered that they had no idea belonged to who. Miiko had been taken and Prisca who was busy being bewildered by Essie's return, couldn't react on time to save her Caster. Jace was very tense - this was the worst possible scenario. "Better dead than captured." Stella muttered quietly, a haunted look in her eyes. "Essie, you're strong, I know you are. I gotta think, I gotta think." Essie just smiled nastily at Prisca, who deserved everything she got. "Looks like you're going to lose someone else you are about." She said with a smile. Rose was on edge, any second now, she would be summoned, she would be taken to Miiko's side, but Nino interrupted everyone.
"Orianna, I know you're there!" Nino yelled, and not that anyone could see, but she had hidden a giant bomb under her shirt that she would use to kill everyone if she needed to. "Let me off this boat, Jace, I know how to save Miiko." So Jace had no choice but to release her and then Rose suddenly felt a sudden, awful pain striking through her, the pain of someone else holding her Summoner. She clutched at her chest, not understanding. "...Hurts." She muttered and Daisy ran to her, worried. "Someone picked up your Summoner, didn't they?" It felt as if she was going to be torn in half, one of the petals was bent - how much would it hurt if it was damaged even further? A red light shone on Nino's forehead as she wheeled herself to where the Republic soldiers were. A sniper rifle was trained on her. "No one move, or I'll kill myself." Nino screamed. "I'm a former member of L's Elite Four, I know you have orders to take me alive!"
And that was how Nino too, was taken hostage, she offered a small wave to Nino. Lise looked at her, about to search her for any tricks or traps, but Sam took her hand. "Remember, she used to be one of ours, L wouldn't want us to treat her as anyting less than family." The little blonde stared at the prince with a harsh glare for a few moments but shook her head. "Fine, whatever. Nino, I don't care if L and the others forgive you - I won't, not the way you made Orianna cry." Orianna was almost stunned to see her sister back, but she couldn't bring herself to hug her. "Let's just go back to the boat for now, okay, everyone?" Pablo smiled with a sing song voice, ushering them to their reinforcing fleet.
The storm was getting worse now and Sam gave Nino a very subtle nod, he knew very well what she was hiding. Nino offered Miiko a reassuring thumbs up, she wasn't going to let Miiko suffer if she could help it. And so Nino, because of her past connections, was able to avoid handcuffs and everything else, but Miiko didn't have the same luck, her wrists were cuffed. "Since she isn't going to answer, let's just take her back to the Capitol with us." Pablo lead the way onto the boats, and they set sail.
An hour later, on the open sea, it happened. A red flag weaved in the sky, and then two strange floating stars appeared next to the ship. With that, a rainbow-colored laser blasted through the ship's hull all the way to just barely miss the engine. "The ship is sinking!" Lise shouted in alarm. "Move the prisoners to the the Flagship, we have to abandon this one!" The Yavinese Fleet was upon them - but not only that, the Ondern Fleet had come as reinforcements, answering Jace's call. Lundy, Ondern's leader, grinned as he saluted Jace in greeting. "Ondern is here to assist! Let's get your daughter back!" An all out sea battle was about to begin, and everyone began loading and prepping the cannons for a bloody battle at sea.
Stella had another idea, of course. Other than just using Essie's power to demolish things, she had them spill all their oil reserves onto the water. "Once the Republic Fleet gets close to the water, we can light the oil on fire and they'll all die." Stella said, looking unapologetically at Prisca. "If we can't save Miiko before then, you'll both die. Trust me - death is a kinder fate than being captured." An oil fire, mixed with the rain... it would be a firestorm engulfing all the ships one by one. "Then jump us over." Jellyfish and Daisy were already doing their thing as well, under the sea in a bubble, they attached themselves to the ship Miiko and Nino were taken to, and Daisy began to sing, planting suggestions into Miiko and Nino's heads.
"Come to the lower floors if you can, we'll put you both safely in a bubble and carry us back to the Horizon Star!"
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
Someone pulled Miiko off of Sam and cuffed her arms behind her. Miiko thrashed, attempting to get the metal hand cuffs off. "Give it back! Give it back to me!" As long as Miiko couldn't touch the plastic rose, she could not summon her spirit. "It's mine," Miiko wasn't going to cry, but she sure felt like it. She wanted her summoning piece back, she wanted to feel the connection with Rose. "I'll take the prisoners down to the brig," Sam assured them, lifting Miiko over his shoulder and allowing Nino to wheel herself. Once they were in the basement level of the ship Sam placed Miiko down. "Listen, I'm going to give you the rose, but don't summon your spirit here. You'll only end up in trouble," Sam said quietly. "I'll get you both out of here, just trust me, alright?" Sam placed the plastic rose in Miiko's jacket pocket. "Sit tight for a while, Jace is on his way."[/color]
"Daddy's coming?" Sam nodded, "I heard it on your walkie." He handed Miiko's walkie talkie to Nino, who would make better use of it since her hands weren't tied. "I'm going above, please trust me." Sam disappeared up the steps, going to the top deck. "Ugh, it's so hot down here." Miiko was sweating, but she couldn't take off her jacket with her hands cuffed like this. About an hour in, the boat began to rock violently. Miiko screamed as she slid, crashing into Nino's chair which Nino had managed to get under control. "Here, get on my lap," Miiko clambered on and Nino latched one arm around Miiko's waist, using the other to navigate towards the ramp, but the door was locked. "Hey!" Miiko called, water had begun to fill the hull of the boat. "Hey! Let us out!" Her voice took on an edge of panic, it was clear that Miiko believed they had been forgotten about.
"Did you hear that?" Miiko inquired and Nino nodded, "let's go."[/color] Miiko looked at Nino in concern, "can you swim?" Nino shook her head. "No, but you can, right?" Nino took out what looked like a small razor and cut through the cuffs on Miiko's wrists. "You should have done that earlier," Miiko helped Nino out of her wheelchair and into the water, the two of them taking a deep breath before going under. The two of them swam beneath the deck, Miiko kicking, dragging Nino along to the lower floor, where they encountered an air bubble. Miiko popped her head above, gasping for air. "Daisy! Can you hear me!" Miiko called, panting. Nino was struggling, using her hands to keep herself afloat.
"Daisy! We need you!" They were running out of air, Miiko was quickly growing dizzy from the lack of oxygen. She took Nino's hand and dove down beneath the water once again, salt singing her eyes. Miiko had of course, since learned to swim. However, she began to feel strange, a sort of PTSD. This happened anytime Miiko felt panicked when she was in the ocean. Nino squeezed her hand, attempting to draw Miiko out of it. She tapped Miiko's shoulder, reminding her that she wasn't alone. Miiko nodded in understanding and began to paddle downwards, wondering where on earth Daisy and Jellyfish were.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
This was the weakness of Casters and Spirits. Everything had a loophole, an Achilles heel. At first glance, it's very easy to assume that a Spirit is overpowered, since they have old-world style light bearing marks, their bodies naturally heal faster, they have extensive battle experience, and can instantly teleport to their Caster in a split second to protect them upon being summoned. They were the biggest problem plaguing the Republic. But the weakness was that if someone not destined managed to tough a Summoner after it's already been awakened, the Spirit becomes useless. There was a reason most Casters were very indiscreet about the object that their Spirit was tied to - because if it was found out, it became a massive weakness. "Just lie there, you can't do anything for now." Gavin sat Rose down on the ground as he manned the cannons, Gavin loading the powder into the barrel for them to fire upon the enemy ships. "B-but... I have to... Miiko...!" Rose couldn't move, it hurt too much, her soul felt as if it was being invaded.
Stella and Essie were working well despite it being their first time. Maybe it was because the two of them were prodigies at fighting, or because Stella meant star and Essie was the Star, so the two had natural synchronization. The two of them worked in a very simple pattern. First, Stella teleports onto an enemy ship. Then she summons Essie to her side, who conjured up the two stars and floats them to either side of the ship. With the rainbow laser blast punching a deadly hole into the boat Stella jumped to another and they continued that same pattern. Until of course they found L on the Imperial Dusk, the Republic's Flagship. "Well, look what we have here." L said with a grin, a new eyepatch making him appear ever more menacing. Stella grinned, flag whirling in her hands. "Essie, let's not hesitate, we're going to kill them!" Essie smiled and did a little polite curtsey. "Hello, my name is Essie. And it's my job to make my Caster happy - so please die now, okay?"
Underneath the boat as the storm raged and the three fleets clashed, Daisy and Jellyfish were struggling. Mostly because the current, the waves, they were getting stronger, it was harder to keep up with the boat Miiko and Nino were trapped in. "It was that one, I know it." Daisy pointed, guessing, from the bubble, and Jellyfish nodded grimly. They needed to surface, to replenish the oxygen in the bubble - already broken bits of wood and dead bodies littered the sea, a decoration for the noon sun to enjoy. Jellyfish was frantic, she didn't want her friends to die. "Let's go back down, make the bubble again, bigger this time." Daisy advised and the two girls went back under the surface.
With effort they eventually found Miiko and Nino, one helping the other swim because the paraplegic most definitely was incapable. Jellyfish focused hard and made it so that solids could pass through the bubble, pulling the two in - while keeping the gas oxygen in and the liquid water out. "Do you have the Summoner?" Daisy asked Miiko before anything else. "When last we checked, Rose was suffering the rebound effect." That was of course the name of the phenomenon of someone who wasn't supposed to touch it, touching the object. Well, whatever the case it was time to float back to the Horizon Star where they would be safe.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
There was water entering her lungs, Miiko was choking on the taste of salt, the burning of the sodium as it entered her nose and stung her eyes. Miiko was going to die down here, just as she was supposed to the first time she had fallen into the sea. The ocean was not her friend, it was not her comrade, it was out to kill her. Nino squeezed Miiko's hand for support, but Miiko could not take them to the bottom of the ship. Her gaze was apologetic, this entire time had merely been wishful thinking and the belief that as long as she pretended she was strong and brave enough she could succeed in most any endeavor. Unfortunately, however, the reality of the fact was that Miiko was still very weak. Getting kidnapped and taken as a hostage by the Republic only served to prove that point, but if Miiko was going to die down here then she wasn't going to allow her failures to bog down her mind. Miiko only wanted to perish with happy thoughts, she believed happy thoughts to be the key to get one into the afterlife.
"I'm here," Nino burbled, seeming undisturbed by the waves and the fact that they were being pushed further underneath the water, forgotten about by the republic soldiers. At least they would believe Miiko and Nino to be dead, which meant that they would no longer be on the wanted list, allowing them to go undetected if they needed it in the future. Although Miiko's vibrant pink hair and heart sticker were very hard to miss. It was no wonder that they had been able to identify her so easily among the crowd in Jasper. Dots danced in Miiko's vision, if she didn't do something quickly, she and Nino were surely going to drown. Miiko did not want to die, Miiko wanted to return home to her Mommy and Daddy, she wanted to hug Rose and make Stella apologize for being a poop head.
There was the sound of sawing, a bright flash, and suddenly Miiko could breath again. She curled up in the bottom of the bubble, gasping for air, heaving up salt water, and panting in relief. Nino's body shook, but she seemed otherwise okay. "Th-thanks," Miiko stuttered, sitting up. "Y-yeah, I have it." Miiko removed the plastic rose from the inside pocket of her jacket. "Sam gave it back to me as soon as we were out of sight of the others." Miiko hadn't been able to summon Rose for a great many reasons, the main one being the fact that Miiko had been explicitly told not to multiple times by Sam if she did not want to get it taken away by strangers. Miiko did not want that, so she had kept it in her pocket. "Can we go to the boat? Is Rose there?" Jellyfish nodded her head, the bubble moving up to the surface of the sea, Miiko and Nino both huddled on the bottom of the bubble until they reached the boat. "Thanks for saving us," Miiko said, giving Jellyfish and Daisy both tight hugs that spoke of appreciation.
As soon as the bubble popped, Miiko ran towards Rose. "Rose!" She screamed, throwing hr arms out to wrap them around her spirit. "I was so scared, someone else had the summoning piece so I couldn't summon you. Sam kept telling me not to, I didn't want you taken away!" They all knew that the Republic had devices capable of a great many things. Miiko had no doubts that one of them could take way Rose from her forever, which was why Miiko needed Rose.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
It really was a massacre. Stella and Essie were so much stronger than anything else the Rebellion had to offer, it wasn't even funny. Stella already was a nightmare to many Republic soldiers... but now she had two new weapons. The first was five years of pent of rage and hatred, her once kind and gentle heart had warped in a way Miiko couldn't truly understand - five long painful years of waiting, and now was finally her chance for some payback. The second new tool of hers was in the form of that politely smiling Spirit with a dangerous glint in her eyes - she too, had a lot of frustrations that needed to be vented and she was more than glad for the chance to show off what she could do. "Any last words, L?" Stella held the flag to his throat, it was about time to end.
L smiled without even the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. "If you kill me, you'll never make it back to Yavin unmonitored." L spoke confidently, as if the idea of death wasn't the slightest bit frightening for him. "If you kill me here, you'll win the battle... but you'll lose the war. Stella shook, she couldn't accept that, that utterly moronic stupid excuse! "You kept me a prisoner for five whole years." Stella's eyes brewed with a dark rage that couldn't be contained. "Don't you know how hard it was for me?" L's smile grew grim - one not of regret, but of necessary evil. "Sometimes one must become a demon in order to bring peace to and happiness to everyone." L said cryptically, and Essie frowned then. "His threat is real, Caster." The younger Hart twin said quickly. "We'll just have to make your revenge even sweeter for next time we get this chance."
The battle was over now, L called the retreat - they did significant damage to the boats of both Ondern and Yavin's ships - they wouldn't be able to mobilize large armies for a long time, not until they fixed the boats and created new ones. But the Republic had so many more ships in the factories being built this very moment that this was hardly a setback for them. Back on the Horizon Star, everyone was present. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Rose hugged Miiko back, panting because the rebound had been so painful. "You must have been so scared... you're so brave." With a crack, Stella appeared, and she most definitely was unhappy.
"Miiko, you're truly a moron." Stella was speaking not as a sister but as a fellow rebel, looking down at Miiko with disappointment. Essie gave Prisca a vague frown, shrugging her shoulders, there was so much drama here that couldn't be explained. Callum was holding his chest, eyes longing, but he didn't know what to say, not after this long. "It's your duty to make sure the enemies never find your Summoner, to never touch it, but you panicked and now every time you fight, they'll know to grab the plastic rose." Essie giggled bitterly, sarcastically. "I'm sure Prissie deserves it." There wasn't even the hope of forgiveness in her eyes. "But the rebound of someone else touching it, it's really awful, you know?" Prisca wanted to defend Miiko but with Essie's judgmental stare, she was unable to say a word, only hold on tighter to Miiko.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
"It was an accident," Miiko looked down. "It got caught on a branch and I panicked." Miiko would have preferred it if Stella had punched her again. Could Stella really blame her for something like that? It wasn't as though Miiko had a choice, she was being held at gunpoint. "Not everyone can be perfect." Miiko was still learning, she had never been in combat, she had never been held at gun point before. These were mistakes that Miiko would learn from and she would do better next time. "Don't talk to Rose like that! Don't look down on other people just because they make mistakes!" Miiko rose, walking right up to Essie and standing on her tip toes to make herself seem bigger. Miiko turned back to Rose and knelt beside her, still shivering. "There's nothing to apologize for, you couldn't do anything." Miiko comforted her, glad for the hug. It was warm, it made Miiko feel safe again.
"Miiko!" Jace burst out of the head of the ship, running down the steps and sweeping her up into his arms. "Thank the stars you're alright." Miiko was on the verge of tears, only now realizing just how much danger she had truly been in. "You're soaked to the bone," Nino was sitting on the ground rather awkwardly, no one was running up and hugging her. "Miiko was the one that got us out of there," Nino said, attempting to give Miiko some sort of credit. "She kept us from drowning" that was somewhat of a surprise considering how Miiko always panicked whenever she was in the water. "Come inside girls, let's get you out of the cold." Jace placed Miiko back on her feet and lifted Nino up. "Come on Rose, let's go inside," Miiko beckoned, glad to be back. Perhaps later Miiko would regale them in her tale of how it all went down, but right now she was cold, hungry, and tired.
Once they were safely inside the sheltered portion of the boat, Miiko's shoulders began to shake and she broke down crying. "It was so scary," Miiko whispered, "I thought they were going to take me away forever." Miiko clung to Rose's side, resting her head of wet pink hair in Rose's lap and nibbling on the provided crackers her Father had given her. "We would have found a way to get you out, we wouldn't have left you there." Miiko was a rebel, they would have tortured her for answers to questions that Miiko had not even a semblance of a clue about. Nino, however, had too much sensitive information about the rebellion that would have given most of their plans for the future away. It was imperative that they silence her and most unfortunate that Miiko had been taken as well, but Jace had hope and they pulled through.
"I'm sorry Rose, now that they know the plastic rose is the summoner, they're going to go for it every time we battle." Miiko's eyes welled up with tears once again. "Stella's right, I'm such an idiot. I don't belong here, I can't even get taken hostage right." A stupid thing to cry about, but Miiko just needed to let it all out. As of right now it didn't seem likely that the two of them would ever make up for their spat from the first night Stella had returned. Stella had grown up, she was an adult and Miiko was still just Miiko. Immature, ignorant, oblivious to the events happening around her. If she had seen the soldier coming then more casualties could have been prevented.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
There was a lot of mirroring here, with Stella and Essie both being the condescending ones looking down on both Prisca and Miiko. A historical overlap - which was only even more perfect if you added Gavin and Callum's roles to the mix as Stella and Essie's boyfriends, once upon a time. Maybe even now Callum felt that he couldn't ask for Essie's heart back, because he failed to save her, to secure her an escape from America, to safety in Europe. "You didn't forget, did you, little princess?" Essie stood firm as Miiko tried to go against her. "She's a snitch, she got everyone killed just because they were rebelling, all for some stupid reason!" Stella looked guardedly at her, no doubt disapproving, only making Rose wither more under the dual stares. "She'll probably rat out everyone here too, we shouldn't trust her."
So when Miiko suggested that they go back to their room, Rose was very glad. She had wanted to see Essie all this time... but now that she finally did, she wished she hadn't. It was easy, it hurt less to imagine that Essie could forgive her for everything. But to Essie, she probably relived the betrayal a thousand times in these hundred years... there was no way something like forgiveness would be so cheaply earned. "Jace wouldn't... he wouldn't let that happen." Prisca rubbed her eyes, she knew Miiko needed comfort, she couldn't be hung up over her own feelings. Both she and Essie were fossils of the past - their emotions, they didn't matter in the here and now. "Nino had a bomb, she was going to kill you if we couldn't save you - she wasn't going to let you be taken and hurt like Stella was." Maybe Miiko wouldn't have wanted that - but she didn't know the cruelties someone could do when ordered to, the tortures and pains humans could inflict on one another. On that note... Nino was going to need a new wheelchair, wasn't she?
"It's not your fault, we just have to work carefully from now on." Miiko wasn't an expert, she couldn't be expected to be perfect. Some things just happened and then you had to adapt. "I should have been guarding you more carefully, but I let my guard down, b-because my sister, she came back, and I forgot to keep a close eye on you." If she had been more vigilant Miiko could have been spared this trauma. "...I have something I need to tell you." She was speaking as Prisca now, not as Rose. The Martyr needed to confess her sins if she wanted to make things right. "I-I'd rather you hear it from me than from her... okay?"
With a deep breath, the confession was made. Prisca told Miiko everything she never wanted anyone to hear, she told her about how she clung to Essie like a parasite, how she was afraid Essie would leave because of her love for Callum, she told about how her mother ratted out father and got him killed, and then she did the same to Callum, to get him sent away so she could keep Essie all to herself. "...And because of that... everyone of the Library Club... and all their families... were killed... before my eyes." Prisca shook, turning away from Miiko because she couldn't look at her. Tears spilled onto the floor of their room, her shoulders quivering. "I'm just... a traitor... a rat... you should just throw me away, or I might just..." How could Miiko ever accept someone like her as her spirit?
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
Miiko crossed her arms and glared at Essie. "So what? The past is the past, right? Rose payed for her crimes and now she's repenting!" Whatever that crime was, Miiko didn't know. She just knew that Essie was accusing Rose for something and that Miiko was not going to stand for it. "Besides, Rose can't betray anyone because I'm her caster and she has to do what I say!" Miiko did not enjoy being talked down to. Sure she was short, but that didn't mean she was stupid. Miiko wasn't going to be bossed around by some 100 year old lady who probably didn't even know what the World Tree was! "You're the one I don't trust!" Miiko glared, glad that Jace had come to save them from the new addition to the team and Stella, who was too busy scolding Miiko to realize just how traumatized her little sister had been. You'd think that out of all of the people here, Stella would be the one to understand what Miiko had just gone through.
Her Daddy would have never allowed Miiko to get taken, he would have rather killed her first. It was slightly comforting, to say the least, that her parents wouldn't have wanted her to sit in a prison and rot away in the same manner Stella had for the past five years. Unlike with Stella, no one would have come to save Miiko. They would argue against it, calling it illogical to waste resources on a girl who had no place on the battlefield. Miiko would have been truly and utterly alone. Indeed, Miiko had a feeling that the only reason they bothered rescuing her was because Nino too, had given herself up. It was a great paradigm to Miiko, a comparison of how much her life was truly valued. She was not important, Miiko was a light bearer, sure, but the rebellion could always make do without an extra one, one who did not know how to properly wield her abilities at that.
"That's your sister?" Miiko looked up into Rose's face. "I guess you do look alike," she said quietly. "She's mean, I don't like her." She reminded Miiko of every other adult she had ever met. They spoke to her as though she was stupid, as though Miiko had never been part of a rebellion operation. Miiko was much smarter than anyone gave her credit for, but still, Miiko was naive of the matters of war. "I should have been able to do something," Miiko said quietly, rubbing the rest of her tears out of her eyes. "But I'm so useless," one's usefulness only extended to the extent of their abilities. While fighting had its charm, Miiko realized that she did not belong there. She was going to have to make an appeal to her parents, perhaps there was a different job that she and Rose could take care of? A mission that nobody else could do. "What is it?" Miiko asked quietly, more than a bit excited that Rose was finally going to open up.
The story was not one that Miiko had been expecting. It was a tale of love, tragedy, war, and sorrow. Throughout it, Miiko had hoped that Rose would be the hero, hoping that she would turn sides and change the tide, but well, you didn't always get what you wished for. "I'm not going to throw you away," Miiko said softly. "What you did was bad, but you paid the ultimate price." Miiko's eyes welled up with tears once again and she threw her arms around her spirit in an attempt to comfort her. "You don't have to be sad anymore, what you went through was terrible." In a way, Rose had turned from the bully into getting bullied. Killing everyone was not what she had wanted, she had wanted one thing to happen and then her entire world was destroyed.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
It was nice to be here, away from everyone else, to just be in a room for herself and Miiko to talk. They were safe from Stella's cruel lecturing words, they were safe from Essie's mocking hate-filled words, here was a safe place where she could be with Miiko and wouldn't have to worry about what anyone else said, at least until the return to Yavin was over. It would take them a few hours, and by nightfall they will have made it back to their home, and Essie would see the World Tree for the first time. "We're twins." Rose elaborated, just in case Miiko was curious. "I'm older by a few minutes, but, u-um, she was always the strong, popular one that everyone liked." Prisca only ever had one friend throughout her life, and in the end even that one friend - her own sister - wanted nothing to do with her.
Essie had the right to be mean. Prisca ruined everything, and Essie was allowed to express her feelings for it all. And here was Miiko, still in tatters because of what she experienced, being captured like that. "I'll look more carefully at us from now on, I won't let them take you again." Prisca leaned in and pressed her forehead to Miiko's, a gesture similar to what Essie always used to do to her, a nostalgic echo of the past. If she had been stronger, then Miiko would never have had to have gone through something so frightening. "M-Miiko... you're the princess, so it's everyone's job to protect you." She smiled then, knowing Miiko's heart. "But just because you're a princess doesn't mean you're not allowed to be cool and help fight! You just need more experience and practice doing both." Miiko was strong enough to be able to summon Rose, after all, and Rose was a pretty strong Spirit. No doubt that meant her Caster had the untapped potential to become truly great.
With a fearful heart and trembling hands it was finally time for Prisca to open up and tell Miiko everything about her. This process was something every pair of Spirit and Caster was supposed to go through - teaching the Caster who the Spirit was, what they're capable of, everything. It was supposed to promote bonding and mutual strength - but Prisca had been too afraid to do that, because of how deep her sin was. And yet Miiko didn't seem to be put off by what she did, she accepted it... and she didn't throw her away. "Because of one girl's stupid heart, hundreds of people, children, were killed." She pressed her hand to her heart and shivered, trying to stop her sobbing. "It'll be a cross... that I'll always have to bear. But... Mimi... if it's not too heavy, I'm glad I could share it with you.' Against all expectations, Miiko had handled it with grace.
A few hours later they finally made it to Yavin's shores and it was time to disembark and put the Yavinese Fleet back into the shipyard, safe from outer eyes viewing in, so they wouldn't know about the army of boats. Kennan's eyes were glowing even as he was let down from the boat with help from Daisy. "This was so exciting!" Kennan had vomited at all the death he saw, but he was even more excited now. "My blood is pumping, I want to fight next time, okay?" He grabbed Sanaa's arm and pulled on it. "Next time you're coming too, so we can kick all the asses together!" Sanaa looked sick and had no idea how to respond to that. Essie let out a held breath and stared with respect. "So that's the World Tree, huh." She said, looking over at Stella. "I guess this is home now."
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
It was around dinner time when Athena and Jace returned to the house. The kids were already eating, their small family growing bigger everyday. "Yui, why don't you serve the beautiful dessert you made?" Athena suggested and Yui went over to their fridge, taking out what appeared to be a cake. "For your first successful mission together!" Yui said, carefully placing the cake on the table. "What is it?" Miiko asked, looking at the beautifully decorated sponge covered in lavenous frosting. "It's strawberry shortcake!" Yui squeaked, suddenly shy with the appearance of Essie. Was it possible that Yui was already being replaced? "What's a strawberry?" It was a plant that Miiko had never heard of. "Oh, they're um, they're juicy and sweet. I saw a patch of them growing, so-so I wa-wanted to pi-pick them a-and ma-make cake!" It seemed her stutter returned when she was nervous. "Do you want some Rose?"
Miiko dug into her slice, her eyes lighting up when she tried it. "This is so good!" Miiko would have asked for seconds, but she was keeping in mind the fact that she had been called chubby and despite the fact that Rose denied it, Miiko was very much afraid of growing plump. "Miiko, your Mother and I would like to talk to you and Rose." Jace said, beckoning her towards their bedroom. Miiko stood nervously and took one last sip from her glass of water. She had changed into clean clothes since coming back, her wet ones hanging up to dry outside. Miiko took Rose's hand and squeezed it nervously, leading her to the bedroom her parents resided in. "Miiko, today, in short, was a disaster." Jace began, sitting on the edge of the neatly made bed. The bedroom was small and cozy, familiar and nostalgic in ways that would always make Miiko feel at home.
"We don't want you on the battlefield anymore." Miiko tensed, she had figured that this was coming. "I'm sorry sweetie," Athena said quietly. "But the truth of the fact is that you're small and quite frankly, a little bit slow." Miiko felt tears of shame burn in her eyes. It was just like Stella said, Miiko was a moron. "But-" Jace said quickly, "we have a different job for you and Rose." Jace handed Miiko a large file. "We need you to go undercover." Miiko blinked back her tears quickly and sniffled. "Under cover?" She hiccuped, trying to stop her crying. Miiko looked up at Rose, wondering what could possibly be written in there. "We need you to head into the belly of the beast, a mission that no one else could ever complete." Miiko felt her heart soar, this was exactly the kind of thing that she was meant to do! "What is it?" Miiko was growing excitedly.
"In Capitol City, there's a military school that our operative was recently caught at. This will entail a long term mission of recruiting Republic children to join the Yavenese fleet." Miiko could do that! She could definitely do something like that! "Of course, it won't be easy, you can't just outright state who you are and what you're doing there. You too Rose, you'll both be working together to subtly drop fliers, set up contacts, and help bring more people realize how corrupt the Republic is."
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
And here they were, meeting at Sam's private boat. It wasn't much of a boat, compared to big fancy ones like the Horizon Star and the Imperial Dusk, but the Black Prince wasn't small by any means. To the Republic, it was nothing more than a mission for Sam to pick up two of his sisters from the Saint Raven's Orphanage where he came from. Of course this was just a cover story and from the port at Jaspar he picked up two girls, Miiko and Rose, and invited them onto the ship. "Why can't we see them yet?" Lise asked - as requested, both of his sisters came in shawls to cover their faces and everything else so that it would all be hidden. "I want it to be a surprise." Sam said with a conspiratorial wink. Lise puffed her cheeks unhappily, hands on her hips. "I wanted to see their faces, I bet I could make friends with them! It's not like Pablo's here anyways, isn't he the only one you want to keep them a surprise for?!"
Sam smiled and lead Rose and Miiko through the hall to his room, which was guaranteed to be free of any listening devices. Just in case though he handed them a piece of paper - one with names and pictures of girls from the orphanage that he had befriended. The message was silent but clear - they needed to pick out new identities for themselves as his sisters, and he would dress them up appropriately. Rose pointed at one and Sam nodded. "Irina, it's been so long." Irina Reisser was her name now, and Prisca would wear it well. Sam wasted no time in coloring her hair, bleaching the black so that it became a pristine snowy white, and giving her a dress to go with the look, a pale blue that looked like the gentle fragrance of falling snow.
"Like you said, the war is only getting worse, so I took her and brought us here." Irina said, flashing a smile. This new look felt oh so very strange, but she was just going to have to get used to it. "With the battle in Jaspar, we didn't want to risk getting caught in another warzone." Sam hugged her, glad that she was playing along so naturally. Would Miiko be able to do the same? Sam wondered, but Irina was sure that she'd be able to do it. "I'm glad you finally agreed to come. I promise, we'll take care of you, you'll be safe." Irina grinned, following the script with ease. Just like how she could play the role of Rose, peerless warrior, she could do the same as Irina, tough sister of Sam.
She stood up with flourish, skirt of the dress swishing with satisfaction around her legs. "We aren't here to be protected, silly brother. We want to join the Military Academy! You think we'd let you go off to fight wars on your own?" With that Lise burst her way into the room, looking like a very excited child. "You two are joining the Military Academy?! I'm a student there, I can teach you two everything you want to know!" For such a fearsome fighter, Lise was acting like an excitable child, wanting a female friend closer to her age for once, and with Miiko's size no doubt she thought they were in the same age group. "This is going to be so fun! Any sister of Sam's is family to me!" No matter how weirded out Prisca was, Irina was peerless as she shook Lise's hand. "I'm Irina, it's nice to meet you, um..." The little blonde beamed happily. "Lise, I'm Lise Windsor, Ace of the Republic!"
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
"What do you mean they're gone!" Stella yelled, grabbing her Father by the front of his shirt. Jace unlocked Stella's hand from his clothing and stepped forward, pushing her back against the wall. "The decision I made was on my authority and no one else's. There was a job that needed to get done that only Miiko and Rose could do." Stella's hands balled into fists, Yui trembled, watching it all from the kitchen. Stella began to laugh, unfeeling of the pain in her hand or the fact that she had just broken through Miiko's door where her bed was neatly made but her floor was a mess. "Where is she? On some fool's chase? Is she going after a snipe?" That would suit her idiotic little sister, to go chasing after things that didn't exit. "Miiko is going to Capitol City," it was a strike directly through her heart. "She'll be an undercover operative at the military academy to recruit people to join our side."
"It's a suicide mission," Stella gasped. "You-you don't know what you've done." Jace reached out for his daughter but Stella brushed him off. "What I've done is send Miiko to the most secure facility out of all of the islands. If anyone can keep her safe, it will be them." Stella remained unconvinced. "Miiko doesn't understand things like subtlety, she'll go blabbing to the first person she sees and get herself killed." Stella laughed once more, moving away from her Father. "You may as well start planning the funeral! Miiko is as good as dead!" Jace narrowed his eyes, stepping in front of Stella. "Don't look down on your sister. Don't speak about her like that. Miiko is perfectly capable of taking care of herself." Miiko was practically taking care of the whole family after Athena fell ill, but Stella had yet to learn of her Mother's ailment, Athena was doing a job well done in hiding it. "Miiko is by far one of the best operatives we have available and with Rose at her side she has the confidence to succeed."
Miiko sat anxiously in the boat, doing her best not to speak. She was holding Rose's hand, wearing a black glove so that Lise, who was so close to the veil, could not see her face. Was Miiko intimidated by Lise? Yes, a little bit, but Miiko would not let that come between herself and her mission. It was a relief to reach Sam's room, where Miiko could take off the veil and breathe in the warm air. Sam held out the file of orphans to her and Miiko flipped through, picking one. Emma, Emma white. "Emmy, so glad you're with us," Sam smiled and took out a pair of scissors. Miiko faced away from the mirror, too afraid to see what would come next. She had never had short hair before, this was certainly going to be a drastic change. Sam used a box of dye to turn her hair brown and by the time Miiko turned around towards the mirror she had become unrecognizable.
Miiko put on her white dress and pink jacket, waiting anxiously for the other two to say something. "I-I always wanted to leave that place," Miiko swallowed. She had to begin to think of herself as Emma. No longer was Miiko or Mimi, but Emma White, the orphan. There was no Stella, only the children in these pictures. "We-we want to fight against the rebels!" Miiko-no-Emma-bad Miiko! Emma's voice trembled, playing the shy timid mouse that jumped at the drop of a hat. The door burst open, Lise running inside to announce her presence. Emma jumped and ran behind Irina to hide. After Lise introduced herself Emma continued to shyly hold onto Irina's skirt. "I-I'm Emma," she hid her face behind Irina once more. It wasn't hard to act timid in front of Lise, Miiko truly didn't like her.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
How rich must Sam have gotten as one of the top names in the Republic military, in order to be able to afford a boat for his own private use? And why was Lise here, the ace of the Republic, did she really have time to waste here? Irina Reisser and Emma White, they needed to engrave these names onto their souls in order not to mess up and blow their cover. Lise was the first test. "When she heard I was bringing my sisters over, she couldn't resist." Sam said with a helpless shrug. "She just had to come see you two." Emma was already cowering behind Irina and the snow white fencer had a feeling it wasn't all just an act. "I was gonna promise to protect you guys no matter what, but uh..." Lise took both their hands in hers with what could only be genuine excitement. "Being able to fight together sounds even better!"
Sam coughed to signal Lise to stop being overbearing and the girl seemed to blush with embarrassment. "Ah, sorry, sorry, I'm just a stranger." The blonde warrior seemed a little sad that the instant friendship plan didn't seem to work one bit. "It's okay. I'd be fine with being friends." Irina held a hand out, feeling almost like a princess in this dress. Sam, the prince, smiled peaceably. "Irina's sixteen, a few years younger than I am, calm and strong, you two will get along great." He said, and Irina made sure to remember that for her act. "She might even be more clever than you, Lise." The little blonde puffed up her cheeks and grinned. "Th-then we'll have to have a trivia contest!" Next he turned to introduce the cowering Emma. "Emma's thirteen, but she's always been shy. You'll have to go easy on her, Lise." Lise nodded and then stood to her fullest height, being just a bit taller than Emma.
"I'm twelve, but since I'm taller, I'll protect you, okay?" Lise winked, she was so excited for the chance to make friends with girls. Most of those in the Military Academy were boys, because girls were encouraged to raise children and get pregnant in order to help rebuild and repopulate the world, to bring it back to levels it once was, before the Calamity. Only a small few girls actually try out to join the Military Academy. "Wait, if you're twelve, how can you be Captain Lise? It would be weird not to find that strange, so she had to act according to the script. Lise smiled, scratching at her cheek in more embarrassment. "Well, uh, L thinks I'm strong, so he put me as one of the Elite Four? I'm not really that strong or anything, I'm just a kid!"
Sam stared at her dubiously, and Lise scowled. "D-don't listen to him, I'm really not that good!" Irina was excited, but she was also worried. Being apart from everyone she knows will Emma be okay like this? Will she prove that she is capable? "If you're a captain, then you've earned your spot." Lise blushed then and hid behind her bangs. "St-stop that, I'm not that good, I-I don't get why people are all so, gah..." So strange that the ace was so... easy to tease.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
When Miiko had first met Lise, she hadn't minded her, but now, and especially after the day prior, Miiko really didn't like Lise. Still, she had to act shy and timid, Miiko had to become Emma who was a quiet mouse compared to her normal self. Had these people actually existed? Or was Emma a fictional character made up by Sam who he could pull out of his pocket and make up details on the spot about? Miiko was going to need to review the entire file to find out her history and what her likes and dislikes were. If they were going to be on a long term mission then consistency was important. "I-I don't need protection," Emma squeaked. "I'm going to be, I'm going to be just like Sam!" Emma buried her head in Irina's skirts to hide her face from view. "Just like my big brother, the Prince!" How embarrassing it was to say things like that in front of Lise, who was so calm and cool.
Lise seemed to calm and Irina offered a hand in friendship. Emma didn't want to, but she knew that she had to. She slowly stepped out from behind the safety of Irina and Sam and offered up her hand. "I-I'll be friends too," she said quietly. Irina was calm and strong, just like Rose. Whereas Emma was shy and thirteen?! Why hadn't Emma seen that on the page! She was sixteen, the same as Irina and Sam, but for all intents and purposes, from today on, Emma was three years younger than Miiko. Lise puffed out her chest, appearing taller than Emma, the stout blonde claiming that she was a mere twelve but since she was taller she would protect Emma. Miiko had fallen asleep the night before reading everything there was to know about the Military Academy. Like the fact that it used to be a place called Nellis Air Force Base.
Majority of the population consisted of men, but there was a small group of girls and women who went there. Lise was one of them them, Emma and Irina would soon be among their ranks as well. It was the men that they would have to start with. The drop out rate was not high but if people began to notice that the few women who went there were fleeing Capitol City, an investigation could be set up and Emma and Irina could be exposed for the rebels they really were. Sam would risk his position as a spy as well since he was their recommendation and main source of information. "You're a Captain?" Emma asked in fake awe, "but you-you're younger than me!" How had Lise become a Captain at such a young age? It was something that Emma was actually interested in hearing. As soon as she spoke, however, Emma's ears turned pink and she ran to hide behind Sam and Irina once again.
"I want to be that strong too," Emma said softly, poking her head out from between them. "I want to protect all of the orphans in the neutral zone." Emma lifted one of her long sleeves up to brush her hair out of her eyes. "I want to learn to fight like a real soldier." Emma blushed and hid her face, her heart pounding in her chest. She certainly was doing a good job of playing the shy girl that wanted nothing more than to protect all that was important to her.
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
The truth of Saint Raven's? It was bombed and other than Sam, everyone was killed during the attack. It was a war between Ornet and Kilika, situated somewhere around what used to be Tibet. The two cities were at war, and during this fighting, the orphanage was hit and Sam was the only survivor. This was almost eight years ago now, in reality Emma White and Irina Reisser never got to grow to the ages they would have been. Eight years in the past, they were killed, and all that remained was this list of orphans Sam kept close to his heart at all times. "We came here to learn to be strong." Irina said with a confident grin, and a part of her wanted to cross blades with Lise here and now... but that would ruin their cover faster than anything else would. "To ask for protection is to give up on learning!"
Rose was an emotionless sort of strong, the king that was nearly unruffled by anything, the kind that wanted to shed blood above all else. While Irina too was strong, it was a different sort - she was also able to joke and chide and tease, a much more outgoing personality type than Rose or Prisca would ever be. It was easy to fall into the role, because all Prisca had to do was consider Irina to be another extension of herself, separate from her other personalities. "I just s-said, I'm not strong, okay?" Lise was blushing and squirming now, she really didn't see herself as strong. "I just got lucky..." A dark look was on her face then and she straightened her back. "In truth? I should be dead right now, but I'm still alive. It's luck, not strength, okay?" What was she talking about here? Prisca very much wanted to know.
"It's okay, you can tell them." Sam said, and Lise nodded, her eyes grim and serious. "If that girl had taken me seriously, I'd be dead right now. Stella Miya, one of the rebels, and their strongest. I was promoted because I caught her, but..." Lise was embarrassed again but of a different sort - the shame of being looked down upon on a battlefield. "Because I was a child, she went easy on me, so it was easy to shoot her and capture her alive." Lise laughed hollowly, as if she regretted that, as if she didn't consider it a victory because it wasn't a fair fight between equals at all. "The fact that you're alive is proof that you're strong enough, Lise." Irina said with a smirk, wagging her finger teasingly. Lise nodded then.
Sam shoo'd Lise out hastily. "Send a message to L, tell him we're almost there." Lise nodded and scampered off to do the task. They were safe now and Sam sighed, resting his eyes on Rose and Miiko. He ruffled through his bag and found two more papers - histories and personalities and other such information of Irina and Emma. "We're almost at Capitol City, where your new lives will begin." Sam patted both of their heads with affection. "Do your best, I'll always be proud of you." Irina sneered brightly. "I'll surpass you, so don't hope to keep your seniority for long, okay?" The ice fencer said with a pleasant ladylike smile.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
There were several steps to getting into the elite Military Academy that all soldiers had to enroll through in order to fight in the war. Before they could do that, however, Irina and Emma would be living with Sam. He would put in a recommendation for them and begin the interview process, which was three parts and a written exam. When Lise spoke in earnest about how she had made it to the rank of Elite 4, Emma felt mad. She kept this anger tucked away, she would vent later to Irina, but for now Emma had to continue playing herself. As soon as Lise went to send the transmission to L, Miiko dropped it. "Stay quiet," Sam warned as though he knew what Emma was thinking. "It was a fluke?" Miiko hissed quietly. "Stella was taken by that girl because of a fluke?" Sam's expression was enough to tell Miiko to drop it and so she did, sitting down in her seat beside Irina while Sam left to park the ship.
They had reached Capitol City, their new home. Emma was nervous of course, this was her first time being away from Yavin for an extended period of time without her parents. Sure, Miiko had been on plenty of overnight missions but now she would truly get to experience the life of a rebel. "Look, there it is," Emma sat on her knees, looking out the window. Capitol City was very different from Yavin. It's city was all gleaming glass and beautiful spires, a technological masterpiece thanks to Nino. It all ran on green energy, using the plans that she had designed but never stayed to build to provide enough living room for any citizen lucky enough to be granted the right to live within the center of the city. Capitol City had zoning laws, permits, legalities that Emma could not even begin to understand but would be forced to study.
The farthest parts of the city were where the poorest lived. Unlike on other islands, the Republic ruled territories had an official currency. Those who were blue collar workers lived in subsidized housing with a food and money allowance to help them live pay check to pay check. After that was the middle class, and the center of the city were the most elite. The center was where Emma and Irina would reside with Sam, an elite soldier and part of the inner circle of the Elite 4. "Their Core is that," Miiko pointed to it, what looked like a canyon in the distance with an overflowing river. "Supposedly inside of that river is an underwater city." One could not touch that fragile underwater city if they wanted the Capitol to remain standing, therefore the canyon was protected by several rigorous security checks.
The boat stopped, swaying in the tide of the port. "We're here!" Sam smiled, poking his head into the room. Emma got up, she was told by her parent to bring nothing with her, but still, Emma had brought her plastic rose, which was now safely hidden within the folds of her bra, and a bitter rabbit plush, a common toy in what the Capitol wouold consider poor islands, which was why Emma wasn't afraid to bring it with her. "Our first steps in the city," Emma held onto her rabbit in one hand and in the other Irina's own hand. Emma squeezed it lightly, the sun shining bright and warm despite the fact that it was the middle of winter. "It's so warm."
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
Capitol City was overwhelmingly different compared to anything Rose had ever seen since waking up in this future a hundred years after her death. It was all so - how could she even think about it for a second, it was ridiculous! They hadn't been on this side of Capitol City ever before - only ever has she been on the desert side with the Sand Prison on it, through the sandstorm. "Capitol City is big enough to have two Cores." Sam said for her benefit, because Rose didn't really know any of this. Miiko pointed out one of them, the water canyon that protected the island. "The other one is over there, on the other side, it guards the Sand Prison." Sam pointed and Rose nodded firmly, she could recognize that imposing statue anywhere, the Imperial Statue, watching them all from above, making sure no one stepped out of line.
"We'll do great, Emma. The new semester isn't starting for a few days, so we can spend that time getting accustomed to being here... to living in peace for once." After Lise had left, Rose found the time to read through the paper given to her and she understood a part of Sam's pain as he looked at them, remembering his old friends that could no longer live. No matter how Sam tried to hide it - it hurt him to see the ghosts of his pasts as they could have been, if only they survived the bombing. "It's so different from Jaspar." She tried her best to keep the hostility out of her voice, to forget that this city was filled with potential enemies she would one day have to stab with her rapier. "Don't worry." Irina lowered her voice, petting Emma's head. "There won't be a bomb to kill us, not this time." Miiko read it too, didn't she, all about Sam's past?
Lise hopped off the boat, grinning childishly at them. "Just look me up once you get into the school! I can't help you with the exam, but I'll be your best guide once we're in!" It was still so strange - but then again, maybe it wasn't. Just like how Prisca had three faces - Rose, the warrior, Prisca, the Martyr, and now Irina, the haughty, Lise probably had two faces as well. Lise, the Ace, and Lise, the little girl, lonely behind her blue eyes. "Study hard, Lise's right, no one can help you get through, so you just have to do your best." Sam said reassuringly. Rose frowned - she was never particularly good at school... she always relied on Essie to tutor her after classes because it was hard to remember things. Would she really be okay?
"Irina's supposed to be haughty and tough, remember." Sam said as a warning masked by an encouragement. Right, she wasn't Prisca, the bad student, she was Irina, who was always confident in her abilities. "Yeah, there's no way a test can stop me!" Irina declared as they drove through the city to Sam's house, unknowing of a certain flamboyant genius waiting in the house with another certain red haired moral officer, both of them plotting a surprise party for Sam and his sisters, to welcome them to Capitol City.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
"The Sand Prison... that's where they keep the bad people," Emma's voice was dark as she spoke these words, the sand prison a beacon that brought back the memories of rescuing Stella and Yui. Emma wanted to know how L had gotten his hands on Yui in the first place, she wanted to see how it had all began, the piece of missing history that they only learned thanks to the passing down of stories by mouht. Unfortunately, however, this was not the most reliable of forms due to the fact that every story teller had a flair to how they wanted their tale to be told. Emma herself had her own version of the events of the calamity, how it all went down and why it had happened in the first place. Of course, she had not known that her spirit was the one that had triggered it until Rose had confided in her on the boat the day before. Now that Miiko knew that her spirit was a real piece of history, Miiko was excited to show the world how Rose had reformed and repented.
"It's so busy, I doubt we'll have much peace." Emma held onto her bitter rabbit and opened the file, taking a cursory glance over it. She would have to finish it later, there were so many details that Emma was going to need a whole hour just to read it from start to finish. Poor Sam had been living with this secret for so long that Emma thought that reading this file was like seeing another side to the boy that was known only as the Prince of the Rebellion. Of course here he was just Sam, who was, er, what did Sam do anyhow? Emma realized that she had no idea what the Prince's job was in the Capitol. She was going to have to ask these questions later if she wanted her performance to be more authentic to the character. "I don't want to die."
Emma stepped off of the boat and onto the wooden dock, Lise following them. From here she departed, leaving Sam and his two fake sisters alone to explore the city and meander their way to his home in the city center. "Why are there gates everywhere?" Emma asked, walking between Irina and Sam, the smallest of the trio. "To keep unauthorized citizens out of certain areas of the city." Sam held up what looked like an ID card. "See this? It means that I can be in the Elite corridor," Sam seemed to remember something, he handed the two of them plastic cards and instructed them to clip the cards to their clothing. "It has to be visible at all times, citizen ID's are so that people aren't found in the wrong place and if children get lost or in trouble they can be returned to their families."
"Is the test hard?"[color] Emma suddenly interrupted, worried about passing it. "No, it's basic skills. Math, science, reading," oh great, Emma had no basic knowledge in any of those topics. [color=#E0427F]"Um, I know how to add and take away and read, but I don't know science." Emma admitted, since she had never had a formal education. "Don't worry," Sam added quietly. "Irina and I will tutor you," once they entered the testing hall it would be up to them to complete the test on their own. "Um, why can't people go wherever they want in the city?" Emma asked so as to change the topic. "Because it keeps people in the lower classes from getting jealous and wanting to steal."
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
It was very difficult to keep Rose from emerging as they walked through the Capitol City, a nest of enemies, a nest of Republic soldiers that they were going to have to kill one day in order to achieve victory and complete their duties. "As long as we're good, we won't have to go there." The Capitol City, the only island with two cores because there were two real population centers. There was the city itself, and then far out in the desert proper was where the Sand Prison stood, with the Imperial Statue overlooking them. A city full of glass and gates and disparity, it was both similar and different form her world in many ways. "But at least we don't have to worry about dying while we're here." They'd be busy for sure, not only because of studying for the Military Academy, but passing out the flyers and spreading Rebel influence was going to be even more difficult.
In her world, there was so much income disparity, it was ridiculous. People were - well, they weren't dying on the streets, but if the homeless were seen and caught they were taken away by the Black Vans, and never to be seen again. It was a crime to be a disturbance to the public peace, and being homeless and sick and dying fell under that crime. There were no homeless and truants in America in her time... because they were all killed, of course. "I'm not really good at studies, but I'm really good at doing my best!" A great way to hide her fears and insecurities, do it by boasting about strengths you didn't have! Emma asked about the gates, about why they couldn't let the poor to the rich areas.
Irina could answer this, because she knew how these things worked. She lived in it, after all, for much of her living life. "It's for the sake of peace and stability." The ice fencer explained with a calm, almost sad smile as they walked through the city. "If money is limited and you can't control the rich to give to the poor without making them rise against you, what you can do is give the illusion of equality so that the poor don't rise up in rebellion." Sam laughed a little, patting Emma on the head. "Maybe that's a little too advanced for your level right now." He grinned impishly at Irina then, poking her nose. "Someone's been studying up on her social sciences, hasn't she?" It was probably the only thing she was good at in school.
When they arrived at Sam's house, they couldn't have expected something like this. Two faces, one familiar, one not, burst out at them as Sam turned the lights on, Pablo and Orianna, with a surprise party, full of streamers and music and even cake. "I made this cake full of my love, okay?" Pablo winked at Sam, wrapping his long arms around the Rebellion's Prince. "Welcome to Capitol City!" Orianna said happily. "I hope you two find it safe here, I heard from Sam about the bomb, it must have been awful." Irina held tightly to Emma and nodded. "Sam just wouldn't stop begging us to come, so I decided to humor him." She patted Emma's shoulder. "Go on, Emma, say hi to Sam's nice friends."
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
Most citizens don't go there for petty crimes. Even with a wonderful system like our's it isn't perfect." Sam said while they walked down the marble streets. Everything was so shiny and new here, it was hard to believe that this city retained its beauty after the Calamity. "The big criminals are there, ones who do things like bomb orphanages. The worst of the worst are the light bearers," Emma's ears perked up at this. "Light bearers?" Sam nodded. "L believes that they have the potential to cause disaster and because of their unnatural abilities they're ticking time bombs. We had a few locked up in there, but then the rebellion came and sprung them all free." Emma shivered involuntarily, "I hate the rebellion." It broke her heart to utter such a sentence but she had to get it out for the sake of the security cameras watching their every move.
"Irina, can you help me study?" Emma asked, swallowing her nerves. She was not good at studying, she was not smart like her big sister. Emma was going to have to cram everything she had ever learned and then some into a review over the next couple of days. "We can review all that we know together," there was probably a great deal more that Irina knew than Emma. "I can give you my notes, but otherwise I'm not allowed to help you." Sam winked, he would give them all of the answers for the multiple choice questions but the written exam would be something that the girls would have to do on their own. "The testing center will be open tomorrow, make sure you get there fifteen minutes early and bring your card, alright?" Emma nodded diligently. "We'll be there!" She took Irina's hand, seeming much more at ease without Lise among them.
"But wouldn't peace and stability be eliminating the currency altogether so that no one has more than the other?" That's how those on Yavin lived. Their currency was in the form of trade, giving up something you didn't need or no longer wanted for something new. Except food, that was shared equally among everyone, or you received a little bit more depending on the size of people in your household. Having such fancy houses and expensive buildings was a bit superfluous when you had a population that had houses with five or six children sharing one bedroom. Why was L encouraging women to breed if he knew that some of them could not fit anymore children into their homes? Or perhaps he was only encouraging the young, healthy ones to do it? It seemed mighty unfair to Emma to make the woman stay home and let the men do all of the hard work.
"You live here?" Emma asked, looking up at the beautiful house that Sam lived in. Miiko lived in a hovel compared to this, which had two floors and its own fence surrounding the outside of the property. The exterior looked as though it were completely made of windows and it had an almost box like shape to it. "Yeah," Sam scratched the back of his head. He opened up the gate and let them inside, leading the two girls into the interior. As soon as he opened up the door, the lights flickered on and two figures jumped out, prompting Emma to jump, squeal, and hide behind her big sister, Irina. When asked to introduce herself, Emma poked her head out from behind Irina, hanging onto her big sister's dress. "H-hello," she squeaked, then promptly buried her face in Irina's clothes. "Sorry, she's a bit shy," Sam apologized. "Look Emma, cake."
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
"We'll help each other, we're a team, after all." They only needed to keep up the act until they reached Sam's home, where they would no longer be made to adhere to these fake identities thanks to the cameras all around the city. "Whatever I'm bad with and whatever you're bad with, we'll work together and make up for both of it." Sam was probably hoping for that as well - for them to stop masquerading as his dead real sisters. For him to be willing to go this far was only proof of his dedication to the cause. A flyer was on the ground then, advertising the Rebellion. "Disgusting." Sam muttered under his breath, making sure to stomp hard on it. Irina was surprised, she didn't think the fliers were already here, but in hindsight, it made sense. If the Rebel propaganda only appeared around when the sisters did, it would paint them as very suspicious.
"I didn't think their influence was this far reaching." Irina commented mildly, not sure what to think of it. Sam's face was twisted in some sort of anger but then he put himself under control - all a show for the cameras, no doubt. "They're trying to ruin the peace we made, but we won't let them, our people won't be tricked by this." Irina smiled gently, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "It'll be okay, brother, everything's fine now that we're together again." Of course, since L was voted into office, it wasn't like he was the one that invented currency or the separation of the classes or anything. If he could, he would strip away the current currency system to get rid of the disparity. But he didn't have that kind of power, he didn't have the authority to make the rich and powerful give up their privilege - so for the time being all he could do was keep everyone separated to limit the chances of a revolt. He was doing what he could, though, and was gathering allies to eventually go against the rich that made Capitol City's government into almost a totalitarian state. All he had the authority to do was make policies and wage wars.
Already, some of the elites were trying to remove him from power - but as long as L had the support of the military, they would be glad to serve him. You could call it someone struggling to cleanse a corrupt system and turn it into a fair, beautiful one.
Not that there was any way for Rose or Miiko or anyone other than the Elite Four to really know about the politics at play here. Miiko especially probably had no idea politics like that could exist, since Yavin and Ondern were getting along thanks to cooperation rather than the power of money. They were busy dealing with a surprise party. "I'm sorry, you two, but both Emma and I are tired from the long trip." Orianna looked understanding and Pablo was being touchy feely with Sam as he always was. "That's fine, it was a long way from Jaspar, wasn't it?" Irina nodded, feigning a yawn. "What are your names?"
"I'm Pablo, a science genius!" He did a pose, full of posture and boisterous energy, and Orianna was much more subdued, simply giving a smile and a wave. "Orianna, I'm an old friend of Sam's, we helped him when he first washed up here after the bomb went off." Pablo was hugging and patting Sam all over, like he was a toy. "We didn't know there were survivors, Sam only realized a few months ago that you two were still out there!" So Jace and Sam had been plotting this for a while now. "Well, we're here now, and we're here to stay." Sam cut in then, giving them an urgent look. "The test is tomorrow, and they really need to study. Can we postpone this party until after they're accepted to the Military Academy?" That was all they needed for Pablo to kiss them farewell and for Orianna to wish them good luck before heading out.
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❝Believe in yourself a little more.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#E0427F ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #42647F】
|| Stand By Me|| Florence and the Machine ||
Almost as soon as Pablo and Orianna left, Emma began to relax. Sam quickly hunted for any bugs and gave them the all clear with a thumb's up. He drew the curtains shut and cut himself a slice of cake. "So Sam," Miiko grinned slyly. "Is that your boyfriend?" The Prince of the rebellion did not turn a beet red, the way that Miiko had expected he would. "It's just an act to get close to the enemy," Sam replied, but Miiko remained unconvinced. "The way you blushed when he kissed you said otherwise," Sam cleared his throat. "Do you girls want cake?" It was clear that Sam wanted to change the subject, as though afraid to admit that he had managed to grow close to someone in his time here. "Yes!" Miiko chimed, bounding over to the table in excitement. "Cake, cake, cake!" She served herself a thin slice, not wanting to gain any weight before the physical exam tomorrow.
"Thanks for helping us Sam," Miiko said as she bit into it, the chocolate frosting rich and slightly salty thanks to the salted caramel. "I've never eaten a cake like this before," she sighed, it was clear that the flavor combination was one of heavenly proportions. "There are all sorts of bakeries in Capitol City, as you can tell, it's a bit different here." Miiko nodded her head, she was certain that she was going to enjoy the luxurious amenities that Capitol City provided to its upper class citizens. Or at least, what little she would get to enjoy until she had to go to the military academy and begin the agonizing process of training and recruiting people to join the rebellion. It would be slow of course and because there were such few women Miiko was gong to have to somehow gain the attention of boys, something she had previously never considered.
"I'll show you girls to your room," Sam led Miiko and Rose to a bedroom that had been freshly made up. After doing a quick sweep of the room to ensure that Orianna and Pablo hadn't left any unwanted gifts, he gave them the thumbs up and showed them how to use things like the Shower, which was not a basin of water that you had to heat on a stove. "Wow, it's running water inside the house!" Miiko said, clearly impressed. "Yeah, we've got central heating and air conditioning too." Sam turned on a fan that blew cool air through the room, suffice to say, Miiko was very entertained. She had working electricity now thanks to Nino, but this was Miiko's first time encountering an electric fan. "The air is so cold, why? It's so hot out, shouldn't it push hot air?" Sam laughed and ruffled Miiko's hair.
"You're so silly, now, study up. You're going to need all of these," Sam placed a stack of books on the table and poked Miiko on the forehead. "No slacking, I leave you in charge Irina, I'll be back in a little with some snacks to help fuel the brain." Miiko had only taken two bites of the cake, it was so rich that her mouth was unable to finish it. She sat down on the carpet and pulled out the first book. "It's thicker than any book I've ever read," Miiko groaned. "How am I supposed to read this in a day?"
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❝You still don't know your sin?
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
That in itself, is the sin.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#8e009e ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9e0010】
|| Jar of Hearts || Christina Perri ||
It was time to get to studying. Rose and Miiko sat together, they were going to have to digest everything they could and memorize the answers for the multiple choice questions part of the test. Rose was never a good studier, not even with Essie was she particularly good at this sort of thing. but now Miiko was counting on her. She tied up her now long white hair in a flowing ponytail to get it out of her eyes and started cracking on the book, a slice of cake next to her. "...The Government of Capitol City is run by two reigning powers..." There's the President, L, and then there's the Senate, a board of members, both groups are decided on by votes, but both of them have votes counted differently. For L, it's by popular vote. For the Senate, it was decided by majority per district vote, and each district of Capitol City is worth one vote.
Okay, that wasn't too complicated. Rose was absorbing the material as best as she could, leaving the math and reading parts to Miiko so they could pool their knowledge together. "Thanks for the cake, it's really good." The ice princess said with a grateful nod, swallowing the delicacy down her gullet. It truly was Heaven for the tongue, almost too sweet for her taste. "Thank me by passing the exam, Irina, and getting Emma to as well." Sam patted her head and left the room. "Emma, study first what you're good at, and I'll do the same, and once we're both done we'll teach each other." For her, it was social sciences and history - for Miiko, math and language, it seemed. "And after that we'll team up to digest the science book together."
The technological marvels were nothing special for Rose, really. She came from a time with more advanced showers and air conditioning and plumbing and all of that, to the point that this seemed almost primitive. In her age, holotechnology existed, something still beyond even the mind of Ninomiya Triad, who threw away her original surname which she once shared with Orianna. So Rose continued learning all about the Senate, who had control over most of the rules and organizing and fund-distribution of Capitol City, headed by Senator Linette Rozwell, a member of an old rich family. The President and his cabinet were always struggling with the Senate for control - and that balance ensured that neither would be able to have control over the other. For as totalitarian as Capitol City seemed to be, they really had balances and checks to prevent absolute power.
The history of Capitol City was full of wars and betrayals. It was bigger than other cities, so it always had a higher population... so there were lots of little groups of people in the desert vying for control of the whole island against one another. It was only in the last fifty years that the current Senator and President system was established, but the road to do that, paved by the Rozwell family, was rife with backstabbing and cruelty. Even after unifying the city, there was plenty of wars from external islands until wars were eventually made to stop the attacks. "Huh, that's interesting." Rose read it out loud, quietly, of course. "It was President L that managed to set up an affordable health care system for everyone, as well as compulsory public education, as opposed to private and very expensive schools." Wasn't L supposed to be a horrible brute that only lived to hurt others?