"Ariath......"

He regarded her with a slight smile from under eyelids heavy with sleep, from across an intervening silk pillow. With his silvered hair falling in his eyes, his face seemed to lose years, and stress, and become almost boyish. "You have heard of the term 'sleeping in', haven't you, Myaru?"

She poked him, raising an eyebrow and returning his smile. "We -have- slept in, Romeo. Weren't we supposed to be at Command quarters this morning? Victoria is supposedly returning with news."

Ariath shrugged, smiling and rolling onto his back. "They can wait." He stretched, straining perfectly formed limbs and flexing muscles in an impressive show. "It wouldn't kill her to get some sleep in any case, if what I've heard from the reports is true."

"And the others?" Myaru asked teasingly, reaching over and running her fingers lightly over his exposed abdomen.

He grabbed her hand with a soft chuckle and kissed her fingers, pulling her into his arms again with almost overwhelming strength. "The others will wait on -our- pleasure." He smiled mischevously, lending the sentence more than a double meaning. "Mordon has his own agents; if he wants to know what happened badly enough, he can figure it out for himself.

"Without us."

Myaru smiled, letting him pull her close in his embrace. She had no objections; everything had gone so well...... and she was not all that eager to deal with Victoria -or- Mordon again just yet. She only had so much patience to expend on such annoyances.

"You're such a slacker, -Lord- Ariath." She reached up to pat his cheek tauntingly, favoring him with a more seductive smile. "You can't really mean to make them wait that long......."

He raised his eyebrows. "You're right...... Mordon might just have the nerve to investigate --"

"Oh, lord no!" She shook her head, trying not to imagine it. "Even he wouldn't......" Myaru sighed, letting the laughter fade.

He was so cheerful, she hated to snap him out of it...... especially after their discussion the previous night. She had no doubt her influence would work, would turn him against Kyouran all the more, if that were possible, but...... but she hated that such interference had been needed at all.

Guilt. She very nearly ground her teeth.

Why should she feel guilty? She had done this countless times over the years! She was really starting to get too attached to him, and that wasn't good. How could she complete her task if she was held back by childish, whimsicle love? It had already set her back with the Ministry, and their 'plans'......

Those plans, Myaru knew, would inevitably ruin her own if they were allowed to continue.

It was time to show them the meaning of being her 'children'.

"You're in a contemplative mood these days, Myaru."

She looked up, meeting Ariath's jade eyes. "Am I?" She shrugged, burrowing further into his arms. "A lot has been happening lately. I'm not exactly thrilled with the Ministry's plans, either; I've had to spend a lot of extra time in the lab."

"You don't seem to like your job very much......" He sat up a bit, disturbing her momentarily. "Why have you stayed so long? You don't have to."

"Don't I?" Myaru raised an eyebrow. "Everyone has to work for a living. I just happened to get stuck working with Mordon's little guinea pigs in the Lab, that's all."

"Do you -want- to get out of there?"

She blinked, sitting up with him and pulling the sheet up about her shoulders. "What?"

"Do you want to get out of the Lab?" Ariath repeated, emulating her expression. "Would you like to do something else with your career? You're obviously skilled in combat; a few strings pulled......" He shrugged indifferently. "Having you work with Mordon gives me an edge over him, but if you're not happy......" He left it hanging.

Happy? Since when had she ever been happy? No one had ever cared, before.

**Ariath, why can't you be hateful like everyone else?** She bit her lip in a peculiar imitation of Elanore, letting her eyes wander to the window. **So tempting......** "I can't leave Irina alone. She counts on me. Would you want to leave her with...... him?"

"And why does she bellong to Mordon? Isn't she in your care? She's training to be an Element, not his lab rat."

He was right about that. Had she not brought Irina to Solaris, Mordon would still be floundering with third-level nanomachines and primitive microtechnology. And they wouldn't have a means in which to get Elly, either.

-That- would hit a nerve! Myaru smiled.

"I thought that might bring you out of it." Ariath sounded amused, of all things. But she didn't mind; he had cheered her considerably. "Regardless of whether you stay or leave, I doubt it'll really effect things much, will it Myaru? I won't allow them to assign you to someone else, and Mordon will still be subject to whatever manipulations you have for him." He smiled. "I have no objections to that. The choice is yours."

He leaned back again, drawing her with him, and she allowed him to pull her into his arms. How did he always have to find such wonderful, simple ways to make her day?

"You're telling me Shaina is just -gone- on some mission to find Elanore?"

Myaru eyed Victoria across a round table in Command's briefing room, tapping her fingers impatiently on the synthetic surface as she considered the other woman's barely-civil manner.Her good mood of that morning had evaporated quickly upon entering her meeting with Ariath's second-in-command.

"Yes, that's right. I assumed you already knew; she said Mordon was the one to give the order." Victoria smirked. "I'm appalled at this apparent lack of communication. Perhaps next time we should proceed through proper channels."

Halting her fingers, Myaru choked back a retort with difficulty, and inclined her head to her subordinate. "Perhaps." Even her best attempt sounded clipped. "Or perhaps you should be more efficient in your duties. There are no excuses for you now, girl. Mistakes are punished more severely this high in the ranks."

Victoria's answering smile was frosty. "I suppose I should be more careful -- I don't have the advantage of sharing my commander's bed, now do I?" She stood. "My skills lie elsewhere."

A faint chuckle echoed in the back of Myaru's mind as she bolted to her feet to confront the former Fire Element. **Not so proud now, are we Miang?** Faith's voice was soft, so soft it would have been impossible to hear under normal circumstances. **I didn't know you had such soft sensibilities.** Another, more subdued chuckle, and Myaru pushed her back with effort.

A dark eyebrow rose, painting Victoria's face with sardonic amusement. "Don't like the facts? Come now -- everyone knows you're Ariath's whore. I thought he should have done better, personally."

"I shouldn't have expected anything more from you," Myaru retorted, eyes narrowing to slits despite her best effort to keep her anger hidden. What should this girl's opinion matter to her? She hated to admit it, but Faith was right; when had she become so sensitive over such stupid little things like this? "You haven't risen far, if you concern yourself over private matters that are no concern of yours."

The other woman shook her head. "My commander's reputation -is- my concern, Myaru. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be very effective, would I?" She turned from the table, glancing over her shoulder. "Will that be all?"

Myaru glared at the woman's back as she departed, greatly tempted to seize hold of her power and blast her into oblivion. How -dare- she? How dare she accuse her of soiling Ariath's reputation! Everyone knew Mordon had assigned her to be his aide; she had gotten the position fairly. It was all a poorly veiled insult.

And it had been effective, too. She ground her teeth, gripping the edges of the table until they bit into her palms.

It never occured to her to wonder just why she was so affronted by the obvious ploy. Or what it meant.

(Summary: Myaru and Ariath discuss getting her out of the Lab, and later she confronts Victoria, and learns that Shaina is tailing Elanore.)