The Black Tower

One of the two Ao outriders that came to Isra finally arrives at the Black Tower. The soldier wore the insignia of Aozora on his armor, if the guards recognized that. "I've come to warn about a massive threat coming from the south!"

"It's a massive massive arachnid, an unnatural creature. It must be more than 70 meters tall, we haven't seen much of its capabilities but it seems to be carrying eggs with it, if those hatch into more of these giant spiders, it would be an infestation! When I was riding over here, I was about an hour or so ahead of it, and so far it has not changed course." The Ao Outrider explained.

With a CRACK, Madame Naoki appears without preamble in one of The Black Tower’s arrival rooms, just having teleported from The Sun Marshal Headquarters. Taking no moments to compose herself or otherwise flaff about, she storm directly out of the room into the hallway, and through the hallways and up the lifts all the way to the door of Tristian’s office.

With a glare in her eyes that could pierce steel, she very delicately raises one hand to the door and knocks three times, very deliberately, with the back of her knuckles. Standing there, waiting for him to open the door, Naoki bides her time quietly, teeth clenched, ears flattened against the top of her head, tail swishing back and forth with unusual quickness.

Storming past Tristian into the office, Naoki waves her arms about in wild gesticulation as she responds, “Lots of things, Tristian, all sorts of things! But notably, those Gorain bastards.”

She fixes him with a very intense sort of look, intending to show that she is now- as of only a few minutes ago, of like mind regarding their rude neighbors to the south. Plopping down unceremoniously onto one of his sofas, she continues, voice positively dripping with malice, “Get a pen; we’re going to get rid of them.”

---

Having regained the majority of her composure over the course of the few hours spent orating, Naoki nods solemnly before responding, “Quite right. Even if this doesn’t work out quite as we intend, it will still be a success for the world... and there are always more direct approaches.”

With that done and out of the way for the time being, Naoki leans back into Tristian’s sofa, weaving her fingers together behind her head and stretching a bit. Attempting to turn down the tensions a bit, she continues in a more conversational sort of tone, shifting the subject, “So, beyond all of that, how have things been going around here? I apologize if I interrupted anything, but I think you can agree that this was a matter of the utmost priority.”

Nodding slowly as Tristian brings her up to date with the happenings of The Black Tower, Naoki doesn’t have anything in particular to respond with, that all seeming perfectly reasonable to her. However, as Tristian broaches the topic of a personal matter, Naoki leans forward to rest her elbows on her knees and raises one eyebrow in polite concern, shelving her previous train of thought for one more suited to the situation that seems to be developing.

“Well. … Bursting generally isn’t recommended, but if you’d like to share, I’ll be happy to listen to whatever it is you have to say and offer what assistance I can.” With this, she offers a small smile, intending for it to be interpreted as friendly or perhaps comforting.

Sitting quietly as Tristian changes seats and begins, Naoki listens to the first bit of what he has to say, and nods solemnly in confirmation. Goodness knows he’s contractually obligated to keep all sorts of secrets for her, the least she can do is keep quiet about whatever personal matter he’d like to share.

As he continues, Naoki’s lips purse themselves into a small, ‘o’, the sound of which she replicates softly, “Oh.”

A moment or so passes as she digests the information, and another before she forms a coherent response, “Well. Congratulations.” Still somewhat surprised, her congratulations aren’t especially enthusiastic.

Silently, she muses that thinking back on things later in life, the pair might not be quite happy with the circumstances in which they met. While, admittedly, lots of couples don’t exactly meet in the most romantic of circumstances, not many situations are quite as painful to think about as the funeral for an entire nation.

“Now, not with the intention to be rude, but rather out of concern, I must ask… Are you sure?” Fixing Tristian with a searching look, she continues, “Because that- marriage, that’s a very serious thing you’re discussing. And I realize that I’m telling you things that you already know, but you’ve only known her for what, a few weeks? Maybe a month? And though she may be be gorgeous, definitely- I agree, are you sure that you know her well enough to seriously consider, and even propose devoting yourself, your life to her?”

Listening to his response, Naoki nods slightly, primarily in acknowledgement. She doesn’t say anything for the space of a few moments, but opts to continue, expression blank, tone flat, “The first time I said it- the first time I told her I loved her, I didn’t mean it. Not truly. She said it first; it was easier to reciprocate the declaration verbally and keep kissing her than it was to fully consider the matter and complete the requisite amount of introspection and truly mean the words I said.”

Despite the topic of conversation, Naoki proceeds as if she’s speaking of fact and figures, as opposed to her own most personal feelings; not hesitating or mincing words in the slightest.

“It wasn’t until months after I met her, and a few weeks after I said so that I realized it was true. After numerous dates and many hours spent with her, I was sitting alone, in my office, around midnight, writing about the past day in my journal. In writing, my train of thought meandered toward the future, and in considering how I would like it to proceed, I realized that I would like my future to be with her. From that realization, I eventually reached the conclusion, in consciously evaluating everything I knew about her up to that point, that with all of that considered, I loved her, based upon a relatively full understanding of who she is, which I had acquired gradually over those months. Based upon little things, such as how and when she is charitable, which things upset her the most and how she acts when upset, her principles, morals, and other such aspects of who she is as a person.”

“For as much as I tend to be very quick about hiring strangers and placing them into positions of importance- yourself a primary example, that swiftness is only applied professionally. Personally, I take time- perhaps too much time, to develop personal relationships. Another example can be seen in Skarlet. I’ve still not internally come to terms with the fact that she is my responsibility, my daughter, even though it’s been… what, a year or so since I adopted her? …”

Naoki trails off, thinking back on the date before nodding slowly.

“Yes, about one year. Anyway, when I’m with her, I’m not quite sure how to act. Often, I end up simply trying to emulate what I think a good mother ought to do, rather than being one myself. Conversely, she seems to have bonded to me about as much as she’s going to.”

Naoki offers a defeated sort of shrug, the first display of emotion since she began.

“So, when you- or anyone else, for that matter, come and say, ‘Oh, I’ve met this wonderful individual last week, and we’re to be married as soon as possible!’, it strikes me as odd. Just because I don’t think in that way- I can’t understand it because my methodology for forming personal relationships is so wildly different. I don’t mean to imply that I think you’ve made a poor choice- that’s not my evaluation to make. Nor do I mean to suggest that you spend more time in making such decisions, or tell you how to live your life in any capacity. It isn’t of any particular concern to me, after all, as I trust you will continue to perform what duties I require of you whether you’re married or not, and regardless of the quality of that marriage. When I ask you, 'Are you sure?' I ask you to see what you say- to see that conviction you just displayed, to attempt to understand how you think, and how you you build up all of that burning conviction in only a few days.”

With that said, it’s Naoki’s turn to fold her hands in her lap and eye Tristian with a lightly questioning sort of look.

Quietly, Naoki looks on as Tristian continues. She notes silently that he’s able to speak of the past, and his brothers, without visibly displaying pain. The Tristian she first met wouldn’t have been able to do that. As he speaks of how he feels toward her, she nods empathetically, sharing some of those feelings in her own way toward Kate.

“Well, I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll probably end up saying it quite a few more times before your marriage is all done and squared away, but congratulations. It’s good to see that you’re so pleased with her, so happy, and excited for the future. It’s nice to see you smile, too. ‘Infinitely charming’, if you will; you should strive to do it more often.”

She offers a slight smile that may have been flirting, were the topic not what it is. Instead, it is intended as advice; something to do for her.

“I appreciate the advance notice, and would offer you the same, were the tables turned. I respect her wish to keep the whole thing under wraps, and won’t repeat any of what you’ve mentioned or begin shopping for wedding gifts until after you’ve announced it publicly.”

She pauses for a moment thinking, before crocking one eyebrow up inquisitivley, “... Would you object to silverware?”