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Sephiroth sighed at Jenna’s commentary and took it into consideration.
Over the next week or so, several things had happened. The department responsible for holding the dragons in custody had moved them into a more open space where they were given the freedom to roam. Some members of Rhyderi’s elf-section had also begun the process of educating them properly about the purpose of the army in the Mideel-Samoan islands.
Kalysto had moved out over the week, bringing only the essentials to Sephiroth’s house while their old house began extensions. He grumbled at being packed into a tiny room with both his children nearby, but couldn’t really object too much as he was staying there for free.
Meanwhile, Seres was kept guard by Sephiroth in the shadows when she was on duty, at least until he had finally found somebody for her. Thus, very early on the following Monday morning, the beginning of the new working week, there was a loud metallic thumping sound on the front door of the house.
Seres was annoyed. No, annoyed didn’t quite fit her mood. She was far past annoyed. Perhaps even past infuriated. Her father thought he was being crafty, she bet. However, she basically felt him following her around everywhere. Hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if he had followed her to the toilet with the way that he was behaving. It was like no one ever got shot in the army.
In fact, by the end of the week, she took on a habit of randomly flinging things that happened to be in her way in Sephiroth’s direction, just to send a message to him that she knew full well that he was following him. If he got stabbed by a flying knife… Well, maybe he shouldn’t have been standing there!
On the Monday after her incident on the docks, Seres was sleeping in because she was in no rush to be followed around again by her silver shadow.
Meanwhile, Jenna was being lazy as well. She had woken up to some rather unpleasant morning sickness and decided to not rush in to work. Thus, a scantily clad Jenna, who didn’t feel like changing out of her sheer night gown, opened the door.
Sephiroth was very unhappy with Seres’s attitude. He kept an eye on her for her own safety and wellbeing, and unfortunately he soon learned that doing so would mean less safety for him. When the knife came at him, he was rather bothered but he just moved aside, catching it. He left her alone somewhat after that, at least until she left the house to go on assignment.
Rhyderi stepped back very quickly when the door was opened. He gave Jenna a very heavy and stern frown, shaking his head, finding it better to stare at his feet instead.
“E-excuse me…” He coughed momentarily. “Seres… she… she’s here, yes? I would like to talk to her…”
“Hrm… I think she’s still home,” Jenna responded. She didn’t even really take notice to Rhyderi’s discomfort.
Instead, she simply stepped away from the door and opened it up for the elf. “She’d be in her room if she’s still around. Her room is down the hall. If you see our brother, you went too far.”
Rhyderi stiffened in his posture and then lowered his head, slipping past Jenna to go down the hallway. He stopped outside of Seres’s room and tapped on the door, gently opening it to peek inside.
“Hello…?”
Seres was busy lazing about and reading a book on her bed with Rhyderi came to her room. She frowned in confusion as the elf peeked into her room before she sat upright to look at him.
“Yes? What do you want? I don’t have any missions that need to be done yet. So, I’m not late for anything.”
Rhyderi stepped into the bedroom properly, delicately shutting the door behind him. He stood tall, straightening his back and shoulders to make himself look bigger and stockier than he already was.
“Greetings, Seres, daughter of General Sephiroth.” He lightly cleared his throat. “I am Rhyderi Invictus Sol’thenan, son of Matthias the Stalwart. I am to be your new partner on the battlefield.”
Desiree loudly groaned as Rhyderi started to talk. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. I know who you are, Rhyde-“
However, she stopped dead and stared at him as he proclaimed that he was to be her new partner. After a moment, she screamed in frustration before she threw her book down on the floor.
“What? You’re joking right? You?? You’re slow, old, and a walking tin can! You can’t keep up with me even if you tried!”
Rhyderi stared at Desiree, then growled. “I’ll have you know that I am neither slow nor old. I have been in army situations for longer than you have been alive. If not for the fact that my situation has changed over the years, I would probably have become a City Honor Guard just like my father before me.”
He banged a gauntlet on his chest. “I am not a tin-can either.” With that he stood at the door again. “This is how it must be. I am your caretaker now.”
Seres scowled at Rhyderi before she loudly snorted. “I don’t need a caretaker! I do fine just on my own!”
She then looked up and down Rhyderi before she stood up and moved up to him. Once there, she pointed at his eyes. “And you are so old. You have wrinkles around your eyes and stuff like that. Hrmph… I’ve seen you fight. You fight like a slug.”
“You’re kidding me, aren’t you.” Rhyderi was glaring heavily at Seres now, very unimpressed with the way she was speaking to him. “I am not even 30 years of age yet – and my kind live to be nearly 400 years old. I’m not even considered an adult by my society’s standards.”
He pushed her away, though the gesture wasn’t rough. “Speak for yourself. You are so clumsy, you trip over your own feet at times.”
Seres hissed as she was pushed, though she only hopped in a graceful move before she snorted at him. “I do not. I have imporved reflexes of anyone you’ve ever met. I’ve been taking Jenova treatments and all that! I’m better than anyone bu father.”
She scowled and crossed her arms. “And you’re still twice my age and have those tiny wrinkles around your eyes! You’re old!”
Rhyderi glared at Seres. “Be quiet. I am not less skilled than you. I am the son of a great warrior. A man who upheld his honor and protect his people until the day he died. It is my task to do exactly the same.”
“You and I are partners now.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “You cannot argue against it. My choice as your partner was preordained.”
“Hrmph, being the son of a great leader doesn’t mean anything. Anyway, my sister told me that you and Kalysto experienced the death of your parents when you two were way younger than me. That means you didn’t even get that much training from him,” Seres spat out before she shoved out of her room.
“This is still an insult. You clash with my fighting skills!”
“Go talk to the management about the decision if you don’t like it.” Rhyderi quipped, stepping aside as Seres barged past him. “Can’t change it though. I didn’t make the ruling. I am only going along with it as requested.”
“Yea, yea, I know who exactly made this decision. Damn him! He doesn’t trust me!” the youth screamed out before she barged toward her parents’ bedroom. She knew that her father was being lazy since he had the excuse of watching over his ill wife. She just knew it.
Sephiroth was actually asleep at that hour. With Jenna in the early weeks of her pregnancy he had taken it upon himself to stay home and dote over her, ensuring that she got enough to eat and drink. But for the time being, he was passed out and very much asleep on his bed.
He lay sprawled out, his head almost hanging off the edge of his pillow. It had been a cold night so the covers were over him almost completely. One of his legs stuck out the edge of the bed.
Rhyderi sighed as he heard Seres’s screaming, but didn’t stop her. He would have had the same reaction in her situation. Possibly.
Meanwhile, Desiree poked her head out of her temporary room, which was down the hall from the twins’ room. Tilting her head in curiosity, she stared at Rhyderi.
“Do I want to know what the hell is going on between you and my sister?” Desiree plainly inquired.
Seres didn’t care that her father was asleep at the moment. He needed to fix this travesty, and he needed to fix it now. So, she kicked the side of his bed with enough force to move it an inch.
“Wake up!”
Rhyderi stepped back into the hall, glancing at Desiree. He raised a hand and gently tipped his helmet to her, resuming his stiff postured stance in the hallway. “I have been assigned to take care of her.” He explained simply. “It seems that she does not approve of this. “
Sephiroth jolted awake and sat upright, initially shocked. He came to his senses rather quickly however, and gave Seres a cranky snarl.
“What do you want…?” He yawned after another moment.
“I want you to tell the tin bucket to get lost! I don’t want him as a partner. I don’t need a partner, especially not one that will be a mile away shuffling away with a shield while I’m at the front lines actually doing things!” Seres proclaimed, less than concerned that she woke her father in a rather rude manner.
Meanwhile, Desiree lifted her right eyebrow at Rhyderi’s tip of the helm before she shook her head.
“I think it’s safe to say that action doesn’t look so good with those metal get-ups of yours.” Desiree breathed a sigh before she glanced into her bedroom. “You’re lucky that Kalysto isn’t around to hear all the things my sister was yelling about you.”
Rhyderi sighed. He could hear Seres’s yelling perfectly fine and although he didn’t like it, he could very-well tolerate being insulted without making an incident out of it. Instead, the Paladin simply removed his winged helm and brushed some of his wild red-blonde hair back into place.
“I knew Kalysto would be at his place of work. If I can say anything pleasant about my little brother, it would be that he is very dedicated to his commitments, when he actually does manage to make them.” Rhyderi nodded his head at his own statement.
Sephiroth shook his head, rising to his feet. “He moves more quickly than that…” He yawned, stumbling towards the bathroom, feeling very uncomfortable. “Deal with it,” He grunted as he stepped into the small room, “Because the set up isn’t changing unless something prompts me to do so…”
“What?!” Seres was well beyond furious now. “I don’t want him as a partner. Doesn’t he have a troop to lead and stuff? Give him back his old job and just let me prove myself. This is ridiculous. You’re overreacting to a single graze!”
Desiree flinched at the octave that her sister’s voice was reaching. She felt sorry for her father, for his hearing was more acute than hers ever was.
“Yes… Kalysto is very dedicated to his passions. And I’m glad that our family and his job are some of them. I just hope that one day you two will actually be able to get along,” Desiree kindly spoke. “Though that won’t happen if you continue to condemn our practices.”
Sephiroth scowled as he shut the door behind him, moving to the toilet so he could go about his daily business.
*”I am not over-reacting to anything. I had a partner and a comrade when I was in the army. You should have somebody to watch your back also.”* He grunted at the shrill sounds of his daughter’s yelling. *”Just let things be for a short time. See how it goes. If he is genuinely disruptive to the way you perform, I shall re-evaluate the situation.”*
–
Rhyderi just shook his head and raised a hand. “There are worse things to keep myself concerned than what my brother does. I am not consumed by his desire to play with demons. So long as he does not use them against other people, or become corrupted by them….”
He turned his head upwards, glancing at the ceiling. “Both he and mother knew the risks involved. A demon will eventually turn on it’s commander. It is only a matter of time…”
“You didn’t work with Zack that often! You told me most of your missions were solo and that he held you down more than helped!” Desiree continued to pout, none to happy about the situation.
“I don’t want a tin-can as a partner. He sucks. His armor weighs as much as he does!”
–
“Well, I’m around now to make certain he doesn’t become corrupted by them. And even then, not all demons are as evil as you like to think. You’re like the feline. She says all humans are inherently evil thus they all should be wiped out,” Desiree argued.
Rhyderi stiffened his posture and momentarily glared at Desiree, turning his head away. “Humans are an interesting case. I did not particularly like them either until very recently. They are just as weak as everyone else and they deserve our protection.”
He glanced down the hallway. “I wonder if I should be taking my leave, or waiting around until she has calmed down…”
–
*”Whether you like it or not,”* Sephiroth continued, *”He is going to stay with you for a period of time. You may as well get used to it. Things will improve as time goes on. And if you have a serious clash of wills, I will consider moving you elsewhere. Do not worry about it for the time being. He can teach you a lot. You can train together, and he can watch your back on civilian missions. I also hear that he is decent with healing wounds.”*
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