Folly & Agendas & Talulah

-Chapter 5-

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The tapping of a cup, followed by an uninterested gulp, sent waves of gossip throughout the land-ship. The poor choice of colors worn by their newest operator made some personnel gag in disgust; a swamp green outfit and a thin yellow scarf. The only thing attractive about him were his fine facial muscles, and his innocuous smile. The scars on his face grabbed even more attention, everyone's interest. But the wearer wasn't bothered by the voices circling around him, for it all died down in half an hour. He remembered a conversation he had with Amiya, before he sat down for some grub.

"Kaiser Rye, have you met anyone from  Rhodes Island personnel before, other than Scout?" The Cautus asked, standing a mere few meters in front of him.

"I have. I met Ace, Scout. I'm not sure if I met anyone else here. Two girls looked very familiar to me, so I guess that's someone," Kaiser Rye answered.

"Oh, so you've met them before?"

"Possibly during my travels. One with a red hood, and the other in a blue jacket."

"Ah, you must be referring to Projekt Red and Blue Poison!"

Kaiser Rye mumbled the names under his breath. The image of a little wolf in a red coat and a pink-haired girl in blue appeared in his mind, but he couldn't grasp at any particular memory. Amiya waved her hand in front of his eyes, as he was staring idly at the wall behind her.

"I also forgot to tell you something," Amiya said, moving her arms in her oversized coat.

"What is it?"

"I forgot to thank you for saving me and the other operators at Chernobog. We would not have lasted any longer if you hadn't arrived."

"Oh, you don't need to thank me. I barely made it out alive myself; you saved me at the end, right? Otherwise, how would I have ended up in a medical bed?"

"It's no matter."

"We recruited operators of all kinds from all over the world, regardless of who they are or what they've done –although we have some exceptions to that. If you ever need help, you can ask any one of us. Right now, I must go to Dr. Kal'tsit. Bye!"

"Bye Amiya," And off those two went.

It was only after that talk that the Draco finally remembered one of the operators he met before.

THUD!*

A blur, a ghost, an anomaly rushed past him before it used its entire body to crush him into the ground. Razor sharp claws reached for his neck but missed sharply, grazing his jaw. leaving a , before another attack was aimed towards his throat. Kaiser Rye caught his attacker in the nick of time, twisting their wrist to rid them of their weapon.

But his attacker didn't go down so easily; another blade flashed from under a coat, flew into the air, landed back into its owner's hand, and plunged straight into his heart! Only, it didn't –Kaiser Rye grabbed the blade, blood ran fresh through his fingers, winced in pain, and pulled it closer to him. All the tension building up in his shoulders disappeared as he eyed his attacker slowly.

Amiya was petrified. A wolf, a Lupo, wearing a heavy, red, fur coat held a blade close to Kaiser Rye's cheek. The Draco's fingers bled a dark red liquid dripping down to his wrist. He loosened his grip on the blade, and lowered it away from his face. Surprisingly, his attacker loosened his grip too.

"Yeah, I know you," Kaiser Rye spoke rather softly. "You're the little red wolf."

He reached for his attacker's hood and pulled it down, revealing a gray-haired Lupo with yellow eyes. Not a hint of hostility was visible in her eyes thereafter. Thick fur covered the edges of her hood, sitting like a fluffy pillow on her neck and shoulders. She appeared to have a frail physique, but her strength proved otherwise. The Draco proceeded to pull the blade out of her hands and hung it low by his side.