Fangs on the Plains

Lia looked back over at her, smiling softly at the young girl, her eyes seeming almost misty. "What do you need, Freya?" Her tone was carefully measured as she watched her, observing her through the small opening of the door.

Freya looked up at Lia, hands clasped behind her back. "Um, excuse me Miss Lia, but I think I've had enough to eat... My stomach feels weird and stuffed." She shuffled her feet, looking down at the ground shyly.

Malcolm cast her a smile, then looked to Lia and nodded. "Perhaps you'd like to share the news?" He asked softly, earning a curious glance from Freya..

She laughed, reaching her hand out to tilt the girl's chin up. "You do not lower your head. You do not bow. You are greater than all who oppose you." Lia herself lifted her own chin hi, smiling wide and proud at her. "Do not let anyone have  the satisfaction of thinking that they are above you."

Freya looked up at her and offered a smile, giving a quick, enthusiastic nod. "Alright, Miss Lia." She turned to Malcolm, chin tilted up. "Sir, what did you mean by news?" She tilted her head just a bit, her tone more curious than questioning.

Malcolm let out a small chuckle. "You can call me Malcolm, miss. And I meant that you've been approved quarters closer to us, if you want them." Freya's eyes seemed to sparkle at the news, and she nodded enthusiastically.

Lia laughed instantly, moving closer to pat her on the shoulder. "Let's get your things then, kiddo." Her eyes flashed to Malcolm, a question of where evident in them.

He, in return, flashed her a glance and a smile that said, in essence, trust me. He saluted the guards and dismissed them, waiting outside for them.

Freya slipped into the room, looking around and then looking back to Lia, unsure. "Miss Lia, I don't have things to get." She said, shuffling her feet and tapping the floor with her heel and then her toes. "So, I guess we can just go?"

"We can pack up the clothes," she said, beginning to folding it back up and putting everything back into the duffle. "You can take the tray with you, too." A shrug followed and she looked around. "Freya, if you hid anything, now is the time to grab it."

Freya shook her head up at Lia, then went to a nightstand and pulled out a draw, retrieving her gas mask and holding it up. "This is the only thing I had with me, besides my tunic." She offered it to Lia to put in the bag, looking at the tray. "And I don't think I want any more food... My stomach feels bloated."

She laughed, taking it and wrapping it in the girl's tunic, holding it separate from the bag; they'd need cleaned. "Take it for later, silly. You'll need to get used to eating a regular diet." Her eyes again ran over the girl's form, curious and worried about her.

Freya looked over to Lia, then to the tray, finally retrieving it. She nodded to the older girl, standing patiently beside the door. "Alright, I'm ready Miss Lia." Her eyes drifted down to the food, and her stomach growled softly, causing her to jump slightly. She looked to Lia once more, slightly nervous. "Miss Lia, can I carry the clothes? The food smells really good, and it's making my stomach feel weird."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Hand it to Ma- Red. I don't want to stress you with the weight." Lia smiled, pushing the door open with her foot, smiling back at her before her eyes trained on her mentor and something shifted, more tender.

Freya politely offered Malcolm the tray, eyes focused on the contents rather than his face. Malcolm took the tray, then knelt down to meet her eyes, smiling. "As Lia said, you stand beneath no one here. Don't worry. Nothing bad will come to you if you speak your mind." She stared at him for a few moments before giving a small smile, nodding.

Lia was right alongside them soon, tunic in one hand and duffle on the opposite shoulder. "Shall we, then?" She asked, and her eyes ran a quick survey of the area before she stepped outside, hand instinctively looking for one of her daggers before she cursed to herself and remembered that she didn't have them on her.

Malcolm led them to the lift, pressing in the code for the Fang's level once everyone was inside. Freya froze once the elevator started moving, clearly unused to the whole thing. Malcolm chuckled softly, ushering her out once they arrived. Freya looked all around the commons room, eyes wide with amazement.

Lia, well passed the awed stage of her home, looked to Malcolm as she set the bag down, tossing the tunic into the laundry and bringing the mask to one of the sinks to clean out herself. She had no idea where he planned on putting the little girl, but her mind was busy with the detail work --- what vitamins she would need, what kind of eating, sleeping, and exercise regimes she would need. It was almost like a project to her, but she didn't really know how else to handle it all.

Malcolm gestured Freya to follow him, leading her through the hall to a room highlighted by a very soft purple light. He smiled, turning to her. "This room is referred to as the Orchid room. It belonged to the original Orchid Fang, who was herself a Mydarian refugee and soldier. I thought it was fitting you should spend your time with us here."

Lia's eyes trailed after him but she said nothing, scrubbing away at the mask with her sleeves rolled up to her shoulders, an older dish brush in her hand as she fought to cleanse the grime from the equipment. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she expected --- of course it would be a fang room, what else? The training schedule in her head suddenly tripled in frequency, and she was biting into the side of her lip while she absently thought, unintentionally scrubbing the same spot until it shone like new before realizing it.

Malcolm left Freya to explore the room, coming to Lia's side and leaning against the counter, watching her. "You've got a look on your face... I thinking look. What is it?"

Freya stepped inside and was immediately amazed at the interior. The colors matched her blouse, and a large Mydarian banner hung on a wall, taking up the most space. Aside from that, the room was very spartan, though there was an empty vase seemingly awaiting flowers.

She looked over at him, blinking in an unfocused state before she finally dropped what she was doing and, in the privacy of solitude, slid into his arms. Her face nuzzled against his chest while she fought to find the words to explain, and finally she sighed and shrugged. "She needs to be in a better state. Food, exercise, therapy," another shrug followed and she looked up to flash her brilliant eyes up at him. "Do you want her among us? Our ranks are astonishingly thin." She gestured to both of them, as if it weren't already obvious. "But I know what it takes to get in her, and there are those that might count her a war criminal."

Malcolm bit his lip in though, then took to playfully nipping her neck with a smile. "I agree with you, and I figure we would have the best chance to make sure she gets those things if she is in our care..." He pulled away, smiling. "And... If she wishes to have a place with us, then she would already have a room."

Freya at first poked, and then slid onto the bed, patting the soft material with a big smile, bouncing on the spry surface.

ooc: For the sake of avoiding redundancy, I'd change the last word to "surface."

ic: Her eyes fluttered closed slowly at his playful teasing, and the smile appeared again, slowly. "I'd ask what you can do, but malnutrition is far beyond the effects of healing magic." A slight sigh followed, the trailed end laced in gentle, innocent pleasure. "I feel like we just made an adoption..."

Malcolm nodded slowly, kissing her pulse point gently enough. "If that's how you'd like to think of it, Lia. All things considered..." He shot her a cocky smile. "I don't have a better term for it. Recruitment sounds too concrete, and too stern."

Freya stood up after a few minutes, slipping into the commons and catching site of them embraced. She ducked back into her room, standing against the wall and allowing them their time together.

She raised a brow up at him, though she kept her neck tilted for his access. "She's a child, Mal." She said, and her voice was impossibly tender, "I'm not about to treat her like some run-of-the-mill criminal or soldier. She's a child left to rot in the damned Eunoian streets and I'm not about to let them wreck anymore of her precious life."

He nodded in agreement, kissing up to her cheek and then kissing her again. "You're right..." He trailed off, pursing his lips and studying Lia for a moment. "You suggested therapy... I have an idea that may let her open up. I'd like to suggest that you talk to her yourself, under the covert watch of an actual therapist who can coach you on questions to ask... It'd more likely that she'll open up to you." He kissed down to her neck again. "And as for the nutrition, we can speak with people in the mess about a nutrition plan for her."

Freya started to empty out the duffel and haphazardly place things in the dresser provided, unsure of how to refold some of the things that came unfolded.

Lia slowly tilted her head back, losing focus and humming out an affirmation of "mmhmmmm..." even while she fought against the calming pleasure. Spirits, how had their days off turned into such a hazy mess that they now, essentially, had a teenage daughter? The thought sent her face burning and she fought to hide it, knowing that she wouldn't succeed but hoping that he would chalk it up to her pleasure.