Valentine leaned against the dirt walls of a chamber, running his towel over his mask. Dirt and condensation stuck to the delicate cloth, restoring the glory of the piece.
He brought down his leg from over his other one, keeping a relaxed expression to his movements despite the plotting happening in the chamber behind him.
Two of his fingers fidgeted with the small metal hooks on his face, making sure they were in position. After feeling all four of them, he slipped the mask back on.
Air suddenly became easier to breathe beneath it, almost like it separated the good air from the bad. His newly dyed pink hair rubbed against the dirt, causing bits of it to fall down into his vest.
Before he got to work on cleaning another piece of his attire, Pearl walked through the doorframe. Pure ferocity, like the face of a leader, engulfed her stare. It was mean, almost demanding.
In response to her arrival, Valentine grinned. Keeping his eyes forward, completely ignoring the leader standing beside him.
"We have one shot at this - one shot at the island, if we fail this Imbushko and Yarno become unbalanced," Pearl said with a stroke of annoyance in her voice.
"Do not be afraid of that, be excited. Yarno and Imbushko were one not too long ago. The Tenth Primed War, between the Blue Bellies and Eurn," Valentine nonchalantly spoke.
Pearl sighed, holding her stomach tight as if there were a wound. "Back then they were united, at least partly. From the books I've read, half of Imbushko was under Eurn's control."
Silence fell between the two Thawed, something that was unusual for them. Valentine would often ramble about the risks of being a lover while also vaguely touching on his history.
One that no one exactly knows about, not even Suth. But he didn't, he was silent and still. His eyes closed, tempting him to fall asleep inside the dimly lit chamber.
During that moment of silence, Pearl reached for her weapon's sheathe. It came off with a low click, the weight of the weapon felt uncomfortable in her hand.
"This is unusual, I was expecting you would know a little more than this is our only try," Valentine broke the silence.
"Yes, that. Well, the island we're aiming for is at the heart of this region. I'm starting to think we should call this off and come back with the whole Legion at hand," Pearl's defeated voice replied.
A half-opened eye passed its judgement on the decision. Valentine tried to think of possible alternatives to this kind of approach.
Maybe flying an entire battalion's worth of Sky Beasts over to escort them back. However, there was a flaw in this. None of the Sky Beast would look familiar to the Yarno Legions.
That and also the fact multiple trips were a must for this entire situation. So he thought of a different strategy. This one involved negotiation.
"How about I romance the lady in charge? Get her to free them and we'll bring them back to Imbushko," Valentine suggested.
Pearl scoffed. "Sounds perfect if we were doing it for numbers. Right now, this pack needs to be reunited with their wider branch. That and many Variants lost their homes."
"From my discussion with Hara, here's the plan," Pearl continued. "We rush towards the island and surround it completely. However, we do not have the forces for that."
Valentine leaned forward, trying to catch where the 'but' would be. Yet there was no place to put it. So he continued to struggle for answers in her eyes.
"So I made my own plan," Pearl shook her head, almost wishing it would go away. "We take and control specific points in this region and use them as relays to bring them to safety."
The executioner's blade's hilt slowly tilted upwards. "Using our 'negotiation' afterwards could help us secure a space for them."
"Mmm," Valentine chuckled. "You struck something, yes. If we do that, an all-out war breaks out. There is no way of us doing this peacefully. The locals want their homes? They should fight for it."
"I'm afraid that's true. Maybe we should let them fend for themselves," Pearl sighed in relief.
As she exhaled, a trigger went off in Valentine's mind. He shook his head in disappointment, almost ashamed of being in the same group as her.
"So that was what caused you the discomfort, huh? A threat to your family. Do not let that pain your beating heart, Pearl. Ether is powerful and Hylo holds promise," Valentine assured.
Pearl cave in. "How about the others? I care for more than just my family. Losing them means losing myself, and I cannot do that."
Valentine stood up, keeping his broad shoulders casting their shadows over her. "We are of good heart, these Variants need our help. What if they invaded our home and kicked us out?"
"B - but that's a sacrifice, I am not -"
"You will not sacrifice safety for the homes of others. It's easier to go with the winning side, you learned that when you caught feelings for my student instead of Cerus."
Shock filled Pearl's mind, she did not know how to respond. Her willingness to start a family with Ether were not because of him being on the winning side, she caught them before they started to dominate.
They came from a pure place, her beating heart. She kept her gaze low, trying to avoid eye-contact with the elite.
"Look," Valentine continued with a lower tune. "I'm sorry. We don't need to fight this war, but Ether would have wanted us to. He agreed with the six Scalers, this was not right."
Pearl nodded. "He would have been comforting the Ferals in here and scouting ahead. For some reason, he want's to cover all sides."
Valentine nodded. "That's my student. He knows covering all sides is better than covering one, even if all sides aren't covered properly. We can send you back home and replace you with another elite if not Ether, if you want."
She fixed her posture. "N - no, I will go through with this. We just need a little more time to plot this out before we can do any plans."