(OOG: It has been literally /years/ since I have written for these characters. ^^ The post is short, but very pathetic. I'm definitely going to have to get used to this again. Please excuse any inconsistencies - like I said, it has been a /long/ time, and I may have forgotten something.)

Myaru stretched a leg out along the length of the windowseat, and hugged the other to her chest as she watched Ariath review reports at a desk on the other side of the room. The beautiful view of the mountains to the north had ceased to mean anything to her hours ago.

They had not heard from Victoria yet. She wanted to ask if he thought it odd, that they had not received any reports, but wanted to hide her concern more. Victoria didn't matter to her, but Irina did, and she wasn't sure that showing attachment of that sort would be good for her. Oh, Ariath probably wouldn't mind. He might take it as a good sign, he was so /human/ that way, but... but it wasn't a good sign. It was a weakness.

Usually, Myaru could ignore her worries through simple reason - most of the problems she envisioned the two running into were ridiculous, blatantly unlikely, even. These girls were Elements, or Victoria was... but Irina was quick to pick things up. Their equipment was top-of-the-line. She'd seen to that.

There was just one nagging thought that kept intruding on her peace: would Victoria drag Irina around the desert in search of her missing comrade? She had been very upset about the situation with Shaina. Perhaps upset enough to ignore her orders and risk trekking through the sand to find her.

The desert was a dangerous place. Most of the nomadic tribes held no love for Solaris.

She turned her gaze to the window again, rested her head back against the frame. If she didn't find something to do soon, she would kill herself with worry. Assuming Ariath wouldn't do the job for her as soon as she could muster the courage to tell him she was leaving again.

/That/ was not going to go over well. Not at all.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Her gaze cut back to Ariath, who had risen from his desk to approach her, but she did not lift her head. "This place is truly hell."

He gave a curious half-smile, and settled onto the floor beside her seat. The moonlight set his hair aglow, outshining the lamp in her peripheral vision. "Ah. Still not a fan of the desert? The place has grown on me, I'll admit... but I could do without Kislev /or/ the heat."

"At least Kislev can be taken care of." Myaru shook her head, let her hair fall into her face and become a shield. "Trying to find something in this place is like trying to locate a certain grain of sand - fruitless. Impossible." She waved her hand irritably. "I hate being at the mercy of the land."

"A true Solarian." There was an odd note in his voice, but when she finally turned her face toward him, his expression was smooth, his eyes fixed on the window and the night beyond. "You're worried about Victoria?"

Myaru shrugged. Let him take it as he would. There was only one person she cared to be concerned about, and frankly, that was one too many. "The nomads aren't the most friendly sort, you know. We've seen the same reports. I can't believe that 'no news is good news' in this case."

Ariath remained silent, and she took that as agreement. There was no denying the facts.

Logically, Myaru knew she shouldn't be worried. Could anything /really/ hurt Irina? She was inexperienced in Solarian battle tactics, yet she had managed to survive for God knew how long wandering the world on her own. And regardless of her flaws, Victoria would not let a teammate be hurt or abandoned without a fight. It was a very un-Solarian tendancy of hers, and she had disobeyed orders on such grounds before.

Humanity had its benefits, she supposed. Just like bad habits.

//Nothing to worry about. There's nothing to worry about.//

"I received a communique from the Ministry office earlier," Ariath said suddenly, softly into the silence.

She lifted her head, nerves spiking. That was something she hadn't anticipated. "From the Ministry?" Gods, what timing. Were they /trying/ to make trouble for her?

Silly question. Of course they were.

"It seems you have been deployed again." His voice was carefully neutral, face carefully expressionless. Even Solaris Command did not have a say in decisions made by the Gazel, but she could see the disapproval plainly in his eyes. "You, a registered non-combatant."

She shrugged, then turned back to her contemplation of the mountains. "They're the Gazel. Their supposed wisdom is infallible."

"May I ask why?"

Why. Myaru traced the outline of the mountains against the sky with her gaze, and let the question hang.

Elanore. Elhaym. /That/ was why. It made perfect sense to her, but she didn't suppose he would understand it.

Elly had such pretty hair. It was darker than Sophia's had been, but longer and fuller, silkier to the touch. Solarian technology offered a much better environment for cultivating beauty. Her hands were delicate and fine, softer than her hair. Her eyes were like crystal water, her voice painful, like a well-played minor chord.

Myaru remembered owning that body, feeling wet sand sift between its toes, because back then, there had been no such thing as shoes. And the wind sweeping over her skin, cold, the waves washing around her ankles. It was /her/ body, her property. The world looked different through those eyes, and God was distant.

Perhaps Elhaym was, in a way, a better god. She'd always maintained that God should be a woman, after all.

This was her gravest weakness, and she was letting the Ministry use it against her. They might have said they didn't care, but while she was away chasing the Anti-type - a fact she had not even confirmed yet, ether capacity or no - they would have their way with Ariath and Solaris. Myaru did not relish that thought. She was letting her personal matters interfere with more important plans. But if she contained Elly, it would be worth it.

Still, he wouldn't understand. "My ether rating has drawn their attention in the past." She spoke to the window, but watched his reflection in the glass, tired of the monotony of the view. It wasn't helping her escape his questions. "They decided it was necessary for this job. That is all."

"And..." he drew the last syllable out, eyebrow raised. "The job?"

She sighed. "My orders are to contain Elanore Liuna and take her back to Etrenank intact. It seems they've tired of her rehabilitation and decided she should return to us."

His expression hardened into disbelief. "And the Ministry has taken the time to make this decision for such a young, low-ranking, /insignificant/ member of our organization? I have seen reports of her skill, but I've seen greater talent go unnoticed by our esteemed leaders in the past."

Myaru smiled. "Those are my orders. Far be it from me to question them. I'm sure the Ministry knows how to waste its resources without /my/ help."

Ariath snorted and rose with a rustle of his robe. He looked so tired, and she found herself rising to run her hand through his silvery hair, and down along the line of his shoulders. He was too young to wear that expression. The stress knotting his shoulders belonged to someone else more deserving of it. So young. He was a child in her eyes, too sweet and trusting for his own good. Irina was like that, too.

She twined her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on the tip of his nose, offering a faint smile. "I'll be back soon. There are only so many places she can run. I will carry a tracer, if you like."

To his credit, he didn't even give the offer a second of thought. "No. That isn't necessary. I trust you." He held her close, pressing his face into her hair, breath tickling her ear. "Just hurry back. Personal matters aside, there is a reason I need an aide."

Myaru swallowed a laugh and pulled back to kiss him. "Don't worry, love, I will. I will." With Elanore and Irina in tow, if she could manage it. She didn't intend to return until she had what she wanted.

But Ariath didn't need to know that.

(Summary: Myaru worries about Irina, and she and Ariath discuss her upcoming search for Elanore.)