(OOG: It's been... too long. Seriously.)

//Attack...// Myaru's eyebrows rose, a slight, almost amused smile turning her lips as she skimmed the report. //Is that so... ready to take Bladavik already? And without their Commander, no less...//

That was something she would have to file away... The Ministry, finally getting restless. It was quite amusing... After all of their talk about patience, of allowing them to take care of things, they were ruining their own plans without even realizing it.

And if they did realize this... then they must be delusional.

Ariath would not take well to this at all... Surely they had to understand his importance in the revival of Deus... so why on earth would the risk offending him so, by excluding him from his own command?

Yet, she could easily work this to her own advantage... After all, she couldn't very well allow them to gain Ariath's /favor/... and what better way to turn him against her wayward children than to use their own actions against them? It would certainly save her some trouble... and likely questions as to how she might know certain... things.

Of course, Ariath already despised them - it wouldn't take much to make him hate them as much as he hated Kyouran.

"Is that really the most interesting thing you could be doing, Myaru?"

She glanced up from her reports, train of thought broken, and raised one slender eyebrow in question. But Ariath's amused smile softened her expression immediately, and she let the papers fall back onto his desk. "Probably not... but with my commander so busy, I had to find something with which to occupy myself..."

He wandered over to the desk, stopping across from her and leaning over, palms pressed flat against the surface. "By reading my reports...? You /must/ be bored..."

"That's an odd thing to say, Ariath..." She rose, imitating his stance and leaning over to peck him on the cheek. "I thought you liked your job. For shame..."

His smile twisted. "I like the job, not the paperwork. I would send Command to hell if I could - they deserve it. Look at this..." He flicked at the edge of the report she'd been reading, a derisive laugh punctuating his words. "It's ridiculous. I have secretaries for a reason."

Myaru suppressed a small smile, straightening and circling the desk to stand at his side. "Some of them are important, you know... That's why /I/ am here, is it not? To weed out the idiocy before you have to go over it? I don't mind..." She slipped her arms around his waist, head resting on his shoulder. "Although I admit, it is fun to watch you rant on like this..."

She felt him shift, and his arms encircled her in a tight, warm embrace. A silent one, strangely enough... she could sense his amusement still, like a thin miasma over his consciousness, but... he wasn't quite as cheerful as he looked, apparently.

That meant she would have to give him the news while he entertained whatever mood he was trying to hide from her... that was rather inconvenient... Selfish as it was, Myaru really wasn't in the mood to deal with a tantrum, or anything else he might throw at her.

But it had to be said. And now, before he could see it for himself.

"Ariath..." She pressed her face into his shoulder, the fabric of his uniform muffling her voice just slightly.

"Hmmm?" was his solemn, rather unhelpful response. But he sounded contented... shame she had to ruin that.

Should she try to make light of things? It would soften his mood somewhat, but that might work against her ultimate goal... "I did find something rather important you might want to know about..." Myaru shrugged her doubts away, tightening her arms around his waist. "But perhaps you've already heard."

"Mmm, perhaps," he murmured quietly, pressing his lips to her hair. "What is it?"

"Apparently, the Ministry has began setting their plans for Aveh in motion. I thought it a bit odd... your name is not mentioned, nor is your signature present. It seems..."

She fell silent, drawing in a slow breath as his entire body seemed to tense around her. //It seems that they have decided to move without your approval after all.// It didn't need to be said; the implication was quite clear. And as she'd anticipated, he wasn't pleased.

//Bravo, children. You certainly know how to alienate your tools.//

And how to drive them into her hands, rather than against her.

After a moment, she continued. "They've already initiated the first massacre in Bledavik... As predicted, suspicion and conflict between the two has been aroused again. If you'd like, I can--"

"They overstep their bounds." Ariath's soft statement, cold as ice, sliced through her own like a knife. "This is unacceptable. When did it take place?"

If there hadn't been a danger that he would notice, Myaru would have smiled. "Yesterday afternoon... I don't recall how many civillians died, but there is quite a stir in the city now, and talk of war is all over the air waves. Again."

"I see..."

She tilted her head back, trying to look up at him without making the effort too obvious. He was trying to hide whatever it was he felt at this moment... That wasn't unusual in itself, but he usually managed to do a better job of it. Wasn't control something Ariath prided himself on? Much like herself... in a way.

It was good for Irina, she supposed. A loud rant would probably disturb the poor girl. The walls were notoriously thin in Solaris sometimes, and she /was/ in the next room...

But a rant, or even just one display of open emotion from him would have been nice, for once. His efforts to remain neutral made her job much harder, sometimes.

"I'm sorry... I've disturbed you with this." Myaru reached up, fingers brushing silvery hair away from his eyes and resting against his temples. "I knew you wouldn't like it, but I thought you would rather hear it from me instead of..."

Ariath's gaze drifted down to her, jade meeting indigo for a split second, and a smooth finger pressed against her lips, silencing her again in a more gentle fashion than before. "And you were right. No need to apologize to me."

A smile, faint but sincere, softened the anger in his features - for a short moment. "At least I have someone on my side... And I wouldn't trade you for anyone else."

Myaru's satisfied smile did show through this time, though her companion would likely misinterpret its meaning. But it too faded, as Ariath's had. "What will you do about this, then? You aren't going to let it pass..." It wasn't a question; he wouldn't stand for a slight like this. But he had to be prompted into acting correctly, sometimes... if he was too distracted by his own anger, then the trouble she went through to arrange this would be wasted.

He was just like a child in some ways. It was really quite endearing...

"I think it's time to have another discussion with the Gazel... Council." He leaned down to kiss her, gently disengaging himself from their embrace. "I'll be back later."

She caught his wrist as he was turning, pulling him back to face her. "You're going to disturb them now?" //And without warning?// she added silently, biting her lip. If he just barged in there... she wasn't so concerned about his welfare as of what he might here before they realized his presence... when they had their conversations with Mordon as she knew they were doing now... they were not as vigilent as they claimed...

Ariath broke free of her half-hearted grip with a casual twist of his wrist and the tilt of an eyebrow. "Yes, now. It /is/ rather important..." His expression had regained just a tiny bit of its earlier good humor. "I won't be long... really. And it must be done. Isn't that what you meant in telling me this?"

"... Yes... I just wasn't expecting you to go /now/." Myaru shrugged, bowing her head. "Just be sure not to make them too angry... They're so childish sometimes - there might be more slights like this if you aren't careful..."

"Don't worry so much, Myaru." The smile he flashed at her was only partly real, though she sensed quite clearly that his anger was still directed at the Ministry as he left the room. Very much so.

She stood there for a moment, watching the door and listening to Ariath's retreating footsteps. But when the outer door clicked shut, she turned on her heel and moved back to the chair behind his desk, settling back into the soft cushions.

There were other reports she'd neglected to mention, of course... reports she'd rather he didn't concern himself with at this time when she needed him to focus on more general military matters. Besides, what were aides for? Or lovers, for that matter? She was there to help him with the little things... and he did not need to know about those things until they had already been taken care of.

After all, why /add/ to his stress, when she could have things taken care of now?

Like Alyson Treymond... She sifted through the pile of paperwork and drew the short note out with thumb and forefinger, holding it up by a corner.

Once again, the girl's nature had shown through her conditioning. The report, vague as it was, described protests and insubordination typical to that of Elanore's, before she had been removed from her position to receive... help. It was predicted by Gebler analysts that she would be more than likely to betray her post within a period of three months, if she was not removed from command...

Myaru folded the paper again and tore it through, then again, and again...

'Athena Elaine Belford, arrested on charges of treason, mass murder of civilians...'

It was all so perfect. If she hadn't know better, she might have thought that her children had planned this, though of course, they knew nothing of Alyson and her origin, nor cared much for Athena just yet... But this opportunity was what she had been waiting for.

They could catch on soon enough... but she meant to have the girl in her hands long before then. And if she was lucky... the two of them together might lead her to Elanore again. Alyson was a known friend of Elanroe and her family... If Shaina did not find her, then her two new pawns would.

Luck /seemed/ to be with her, this time... though appearances could be decieving. But it appeared she would simply have to make a trip to the surface on her own, and see to things for herself...

(Summary: Myaru sends Ariath off to argue with the Ministry, and makes plans to pay another visit to the surface in search of the Ellys.)