"The moment Klein allowed us to carry on two things happened."
"Hmph."
Xavier says calm but focussed as Jimmy nods in agreement, allowing him to continue
"The first was that Klein was gone before any one of us."
Xavier says softly
"… Probably just goes to show the power of a commander ..."
"…"
"But seeing that I caught a last-minute glimpse of him, does that mean he isn't as strong as I initially thought? …"
He thinks as Jimmy locks on a curious stare.
"… yes, that is indeed correct."
Jimmy says, watching on with a quiet smile on his face
"And the second thing was…"
Xavier pauses once more, looking out to Jimmy and then around him to where Mu and the rest of MFH stood
"Hold on…"
He thinks calmly
"This guy… could he be affiliated with Mu's group too?"
Xavier thinks, returning Jimmy's curious stare as a host of new questions and possibilities plague his mind.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"But as a royal… how would that even work?"
Xavier thinks as the question dwells in his mind alittle longer forcing an awkward silence
"Xavier?"
Jimmy calls disrupting the silence
"Aaaah…Right, sorry."
Xavier says promptly snapping from his daze
"The second thing I didn't actually see but was able to confirm after remembering what direction everyone took and judging by the leaves on the trees right now, I must be right."
He says gesturing to the crooked branches and rustled leaves on the trees around them
"Let's keep that other part to ourselves for now."
He thinks expressionlessly silent to himself
"At first glance it looked they all left in different directions but they actually did that to disguise their true intentions."
Xavier says sharply beginning to divulge his findings
"Sierra to the left… Cane to the right."
"With everyone moving around at quick speeds it more or less sets the tone for a race."
"So, the natural expectation would be that everyone would follow suit and react, setting forth in whatever directions 'they' thought were right."
He says calmly.
"But they didn't?"
Jimmy asks equally as calm as he listens to Xavier's deduction
"No, they didn't."
Xavier says
"It was a smart plan, forcing everyone to go the ways they think are right."
He says softly looking back out to where everyone stood and envisioning them still around
"But a couple people didn't go forward at the end which nullified it."
He says looking to Jimmy
"Me who was caught unaware of what was happening at the time."
He says pointing to himself
"And you."
"The royal who made his mind up on waiting on me instead."
Xavier says pointing to Jimmy
"…"
Jimmy stays silent with an ominous smile.
"…"
"But also, the green haired guy."
"Cassey Raine."
Xavier says, his tone now more serious
"And that's the part I don't understand."
He says bluntly
"From the looks of it he took a couple of seconds standing there before he took off in the same direction as the commander."
Xavier says as he ponders Cassey's actions
"And what's more surprising is that when you look at the trees and the direction that Sierra and Lillith went in, it seems to suggest their plan was to converge on Cassey later on."
He says pointing to the trees and further down the path to a place where the rustled leaves arc to Cassey's route.
"So, Cassey took after Klein, and Sierra and Lillith after him."
Xavier says calmly
"So does that mean following Klein was the fastest way to get out of here?"
He thinks stroking his chin
"…"
-silence-
"…"
Silence befalls the pair once more, as Xavier pauses to ponder the thought
"…If you're thinking the commander was the way out of here then you're wrong."
"Hm?"
Jimmy says suddenly, breaking the silence and prompting a curious exclamation from Xavier.
"I… think… based on what you saw you aren't giving the commander enough credit."
He says smiling curiously as he stands as well to join Xavier.
"…"
"Really?"
Xavier asks bluntly
"Yeah."
"Then if that's not the case what's the reason Cassey followed him?"
Jimmy responds sharply before he is hit with an immediate follow up question from Xavier.
"… there isn't one."
Jimmy says softly
"…"
"… what?!"
"Let me explain."
Xavier exclaims in clear confusion as Jimmy adds, in a gesture to 'take it from here'.
"There isn't one… Because Cassey wasn't following the commander."
Jimmy says much more serious
"Of the people who were here probably on the Cloud girl and I could actually track after the commander."
He says entering his own train of thought.
"Though you and Lillith wouldn't fall far behind."
Jimmy thinks
"But that would leave us so worn out after, that we would be easy pickings for the rest of you."
Jimmy says gesturing to Xavier
"It'd basically be like dropping out of the trials as a whole."
He says softly
"So naturally it wouldn't even cross my mind much less someone with the stamina of Cassey."
Jimmy says calling back to when Cassey immediately sat to rest after the end of the first terrain
"…"
"So, what you're saying is--"
"Cassey wasn't going after the commander. He was simply going in the way that he thought was right."
Xavier begins, mumbling deep in his own thoughts, before he is cut off by Jimmy who completes that train of thought.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
Silence befalls the pair once more as they ponder their newly found revelations.
"…But if that's the case then why are Sierra and Lillith following after him?"
Xavier asks curiously
"Wouldn't that just be the same as them going in their own directions then."
He adds
"No, it wouldn't."
Jimmy says deep in thought
"Because Cassey actually knows the way."
He says seriously
"…Huh?!?!"
Xavier exclaims genuine surprise in his voice
"Wait… wait… but how??"
Xavier asks
"Atleast from where I stand it's not… But that's not possible-- I mean if even you and Sierra don't know then--"
"Do you know?"
"Xavier"
Jimmy says cutting off Xavier once more as his stooped rant leads him nowhere.
"Huh?"
"Do you know?"
Jimmy reinforces his question
"Do I know? Do I know what?!??"
Xavier asks confusedly
"If not, then why don't we have another lesson, Xavier."
"We can call this one, a history lesson."
Jimmy says grinning brightly
"A history lesson?"
"Aaaah yes, If the last one was on the military and power structure of the Blades then I already know the topic of this one."
Jimmy says ignorant of Xavier
"What are you??--"
"A lesson on the Houses of the Beneath but specifically Siyah's master trackers and guerrilla unit"
He says
"Yes, let's talk about the House Raine and why they still hold significant importance to the Siyah to this day!"
Jimmy says grinning ear to ear and proclaiming forward as more and more information about the Beneath's supposed top brass is about to be dumped on Xavier once more.
"…"
"…"
-To Be Continued-