|Moments After|
POV: Cabil
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The Anagi training base—Cabil's home away from home.
The command center was important for most Aegelleon squadrons who lived within the Dyonegar district, and neighboring sub districts as well. The purpose of the base was to keep most of the militia involved with pre-mission training and, more importantly, end of mission analysis. Control panels, ceiling-end monitors, weapon kiosks, high-top conference tables—it was open season for the new-world tech sourced from the High Order themselves. The headquarters stood impenetrable, similar to the wall of Herith and the other bases like it. And the innards of the grand central station were no different—towering, fortified, Gryzite titanium walls with a touchless shield resonating around it. But the alchemy behind all of this tech was one thing Cabil was never able to wrap his mind around, and never cared to actually study.
While the debriefing hall was a massive hub that catered to post-mission highlights, it was also a place of reorienting and socializing as well. Cabil made it to the debriefing right after his dinner with Syreene, a routine practice of his almost every night after town curfew. As he made his way down the hall, Cabil glanced over his shoulder, studying the other squadrons scrutinizing him. There stood a very thin line for failure in Aegelleon, and whenever a team would fail, Mhal made sure everyone was held accountable. He kept his head up, disregarding the looks and whispers circling crowds.
Tonight, he and his team would be joined by other squad members recently assigned to the Collective Hyude project. He was told to familiarize himself with the new objectives and stations appointed to him and his team. But Cabil had already studied the report right after dinner, giving himself time to finally relax.
The pyro stopped at the corner lounge where Brenius kept to himself at a desk, tinkering with a gadget. The hunter was so indulged that he didn't sense Cabil to his side, jumping as he addressed him, "Another toy he has you working on?"
"Damn it!" He gasped, the frightened look on his face giving Cabil something to laugh about. "You're like a freaking mouse, you know that, right?" He caught his breath, sizing Cabil up and down. "Still not using the duo blades I gave you, huh? You know, I'm starting to feel offended."
"They're tucked away in a closet." Cabil arched his brow at Brenius' struggle with manipulating a screwdriver one-handedly. As he inched closer, he realized the opposing arm was cradled in a swing. Cabil leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "When was the last you've seen Mhal?"
"Ugh, probably last night. Or this morning. Can't remember. Hey, can you pass me that metal clip?"
"Sure." He offered the small piece wedged between his two fingers, pulling it away just as Brenius reached for it. "Only after you tell me what happened to your arm."
"Oh, this? It's nothing. I just pulled a muscle when I took a trip down memory lane. Serves me right for paying that bitch a visit, right?"
"You're saying Yan did that to you?" He tossed the piece in the air, and then snatched it into his pocket before leisurely taking off.
"Hey, hey!" Brenius called out, Cabil paying him no mind.
"You'll get it back when you stop lying to me, Bren." Cabil hoped his suspicious were off mark, but knowing that bastard all too well, he could have easily made them all suffer for that assignment.
As he continued toward the bunker house, Cabil felt a pair of arms scoop his chest from behind and beneath his shoulders. He dropped into the embrace, the strong scent of gun powder rubbing his nose. She perched her chin on the nape of his neck, and whispered, "Heading out so soon?"
"Not soon enough." He pulled away just as she leaned in for a cheek kiss, turning over to her.
"Oh, right. Not in public." She took a finger to her lips in a hush, a sly smile beaming between her rose cheeks.
"Don't you have an errand to run?" Cabil asked in a smart tone.
"There's always time for that." The bobbed-blond coiled herself on him, her arm taking his as she persisted. "In the meantime, we can get a private room to ourselves and pick up where we left off."
"Listen, Cam, that night was a mistake. I was in a very, very weak place and I let my guard down. So you can stop with all of that misguided affection, I'm not interested."
She kept a smirk on her smug face, the woman unfazed by his rejection. But underneath all of that front, Cabil sensed some disappointment. She crossed her arms and swung her neck before she countered, "Well it didn't seem you were interested in me that night either, but you still fucked me like you were. You were talking as if I were someone else." Cabil watched her circle him, irked at her display for attention. "So who was it? I have a right to know, since you were technically screwing her with my body."
Cabil took a step into her space, retaliating, "Would you lower your voice? You're so fucking loud!"
And she took another step further, her eyes looking up his height. "Or what, Cabil? Or what? All I'm asking for is a name. Unless you want me to go to the Gen-hoz and confide to her the impure thoughts that lead you to rape me."
Cabil's eyes grew.
"Now who do you think she'd believe, Cabil? You'd be demoted in rank, demoralized in station, and be deemed a predatorial threat."
"Well, those are some balls you're draggin' there, doll face."
"Aren't they?" She caressed his chest and curled up into him with her soft eyes pressing on. "Now tell me, who's gotten my fire-hungry hunk of a man all worked up?"
"Cameryn, as soon we get out of here, you'll be—"
"—pretty sure I didn't ask for empty threats."
"And I didn't ask to be blackmailed."
"But you make it so easy." Her fingers strummed his sides, her bedroom eyes looking him up and down. "Mmm, there was an animal in you that night. Kinda' left me jealous thinking that may have been for someone else. And you just confirmed it."
He snatched himself away from her, his gait eastward. "I'm not going to continue entertaining this obvious bluff."
She grabbed his wrist. "Are you sure you want to test me, Cabil?"
He turned to her, eager to burn that illusion of dominance over her head, but he kept composure, even plotting an advantage of his own. "So that's how you want to play it?" Cabil grabbed her by the shoulders and bashed her into the wall, imparting a hard kiss that left the crowd around them indifferent. "There, now everyone sees it." Her strung face beneath mangled tresses screamed to him absolute astonishment, and his wild card of a move left her gasping for air. He looked at her with intensity in his eyes, while his cupping hand over her face tilted her head up. "So tell me, if I decided to go further, would anyone really give a fuck? Everyone knows the type of person you are, Cam. A selfish sidepiece with nothing to hide, and I mean nothing. So before you think about keeping me on your leash with threats, think about the title you imposed on yourself."
The com unit to his hip lit up with a buzz, pulling Cabil away from her indefinitely.
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