David's Girls (Kyrie)

[Your Mom~]

"E fyhd dra dnyedunc vuiht. Tayt un ymeja."

The man who called himself the Umber Dragon spoke, a frown etched in his face. As the Voice of the Storm Dragon, her dealings with fellow Dragons and soldiers required her to perform just as well as the Dragon she represented, which included learning Dragon-speak. Any time she wasn't training or negotiating or cooking dinner with Maddie, she was learning. It was refreshing, actually. Olesya had always been good in school, her thirst for knowledge hadn't waned even through all the hardships she'd faced since leaving the hallowed halls of her alma mater.

Now she was in the war room, seated at the circular table with a couple of the Dragons and Voices, discussing recent events. Negotiations with an outlying bandit group had gone sour, and a point on the South wall had been breached a few nights back. Their defenses were strong, so the Dragons suspected an inside man. The sooner they found him or her, the better, and the safer they would be.

"Ihtancduut."

Her tongue still fumbled on some of the pronunciations, but she was getting better. The more she listened, the more she understood. It wasn't impossible, but it was certainly a challenge. One thing to know about the white-haired Voice was that she never turned down a challenge.

"Tecseccat. Haqd saadehk yd 0600."

Nodding, the soldiers got up from the table, a couple of them shaking hands before filing out. Olesya stepped out into the sunshine, ruffling her disheveled white hair and slipping her sunglasses over her eyes. It was bright, hardly a cloud in the sky. It was a good day to check out the market before going home to Maddie and David. It was funny how domestic they had become in a time of war and chaos. Olesya and David had stepped into the roles of mother and father to the younger girl and they...well...they were Olesya and David. There were many 'almost's' and a lot of 'could have's,' but something always came up and intervened.

Olesya frowned slightly as she pondered this, examining a basket of eggplants at the produce stand. [/i]The greenhouses were doing well then, good.[/i] She thought to herself, caught up in her thoughts.

[Kyrie Blaze]

The day was too bright.

The slender, petite blonde felt entirely too exposed amongst the bright sunlight. She enjoyed the sun, yes, but it made it difficult for her normal mode of travel. Still, not too difficult. There was at least one way she was relatively safe; flying. But being that she was no longer a member of the Sky Force, it was a little more tricky than just moving into the air under her own power from the boon the jacket would have given her. Instead she swooped in low, her entire body coated in what seemed to be a jet black suit with flaps of fabric ballooning slightly between her limbs. She descended rapidly, but was only really gliding at this point from a leap off a three story building only a couple blocks away. The 'fabric' expanded, creating a slight snapping sound--nearly a soft rumble or boom, akin to distant thunder.

It slowed her enough that she dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch and rolling quickly rather than using her shadow. It was always disorienting--that sudden lurch upside down - which then became right side up - only to have it happen again as there was no shadow to sustain herself upon the shadow plane. It was dangerous to become so disoriented, even amongst the Dragons; with the spies mingling amongst them, it only made Kyrie ever the more watchful and wary of those around her, save for those she most trusted--and even with them there was a tension, a watchfulness that didn't go away. In some ways, it increased.

Twisting to her feet, the young woman's bright blue eyes darted quickly around, ever vigilant. She did a remarkable job of hiding all her anxieties and panic from the occurrence a few short days ago. However, internally, she was teetering on an edge she didn't want to leap off of. It was compounded by little to no sleep.

The sleep she did get?

She relived every shameful moment of what happened.

So she pushed herself harder, continuing to work on her projects. Her Garden Groves for sustainable food for the Dragons, the issue of lack of clean water being her primary concerns. Just this morning, unable to sleep, she'd been along the coastline, scouting a place to try her trial run for the water concerns. There were still some hitches to work out, but she was confident she could get it right.

Though wariness was certainly setting in, she couldn't rest. David was away once again, from what she knew. Or maybe he wasn't--she wasn't sure. Either way she was torn; glad because if he was gone, he could be so far removed from the situation that he wouldn't have to deal with the would-be assassins that lurked among Dragon ranks, and yet she felt extremely vulnerable. And that vulnerability only made her push herself away again. Levi was continuing doing as he should. Life went on. The remembrance of pain had her eyes flicking skywards a moment before she refocused, eyes continually scanning. Faces, tagging suspicious persons, people that gave her a bad vibe, it didn't matter. She avoided brushing against or otherwise touching anyone, her steps light and quick as she often strafed to avoid people.

Kyrie moved around the market akin to a ghost, passing through and watching - yet obviously looking for something - she stopped along the way towards one of the people that could possibly, would probably, have what she needed for her hypothetical water system for the Dragons.

She made eye contact briefly, calmly, though the sensation of a ghostly hand caused her to pale and work to maintain her slow, steady breathing.

"You do send small bags with them to ensure they place the seeds inside, correct..?" She questioned, purposefully keeping her tone light; to those with a more experienced ear, a faint tremour may be heard until she forced it from her tone completely, maintaining control. She continued her scans, looking at everyone and nobody in particular; Olesya was noted, not too far away. Other than a quick, customary glance and the slightest inclination of her head should the woman with her short white locks look her way, she didn't address the woman that was the Storm Dragon's Voice.

Though Kyrie's real purpose was for the water, she needed everyone to pull through for her on the seeds. If even one was thrown away, that was the loss of a multiple of food and more seeds. To continue expanding her rooftop Groves, she needed seeds. Foraging for them in the Neutral Territory wasn't something she was up to right now. Her morning's encounter had not put her at ease, and that had been as close to the Dragon borders as she could manage.

[Your Mom~]

Olesya paused, the eggplant in her hand as she looked over at the blonde girl addressing the produce vendor. It was her, the girl from the fight with the Cowardly Lion. She'd shown up at one of David's reinforcements, and Olesya was sure she'd seen her around more than once in passing. However, her name escaped her. Had she even been properly introduced?

"Uh, yeah, of course. I mean, when we have 'em to give out, that is."

The gruff produce vendor scratched the back of his neck, addressing the ghostly girl apprehensively. Olesya continued to regard the girl with some interest, trying to place her.

"Have we met?"

She asked, a mild curiosity to her voice. Olesya made it a point to work on her people skills, especially within the walls of Dragon Territory. As a Voice she was put in more and more situations where she had to be social and diplomatic. It was tough at first given her history, but she was starting to get accustomed to it. It didn't mean that she trusted people any more easily, but she was at least able to talk to them.

[Kyrie Blaze]

"So long as you continue to remind people and give them out as you have the bags after people bring them back, that is just fine. I know I can count on you and everyone else."

Her tone was reassuring, despite keenly feeling Olesya's eyes upon her, at the very least. It caused a shiver to threaten to crawl up her spine. All of the vendors and people within the territory knew to save the seeds. Her project wasn't a secret, though the locations for the Groves were a secret better kept. Kyrie had her team that helped with construction of the sites, and maintenance of the huge garden plots themselves. As such there was no need to verbally say; she wasn't here to reprimand or act as a militant enforcer, though her tone did lightly stress how important it was when her words did not.

Her gaze veered away, searching the vicinity and sweeping upwards to rooftops before Olesya's question had her gaze switching to the nearby woman. Kyrie ignored the crawl of suspicion that snaked in her mind and simply nodded. Her currently paranoid mind pressed the issue 'Some would consider white hair as blonde, especially if they were still trying to keep the infiltrator's identity a secret and throw us off. Olesya is tall with long legs...'[/color] and though it wasn't completely ignored, she was able to place it to the side, recognizing just how strung out she was over what happened.

"Briefly, but we have, Olesya, Voice of the Storm Dragon."

It was now that she was addressed that Kyrie turned and inclined herself forwards in a Dragon's bow of respect, a fist clasped over her heart. When she straightened her gaze flickered around once again. The fact that Olesya was David's Voice granted her a rank quite high within the ranks. Bastille certainly liked to throw her weight around and the blonde that was six inches shorter than Olesya wasn't entirely sure of the white-blonde's demeanor and thus felt it best to go out of her way to not offend her in the slightest.

Though David only said her name once before Kyrie dove from his back, it was a unique name and fairly easy to remember even after this long stretch of time.
[/font]

[Your Mom~]

Olesya's severe gaze softened sligthly as the blonde addressed her by name, bowing respectfully. She placed her own fist over her heart and inclined her head, a gesture of superior rank to a lower ranking officer or civilian. Acclimitizing to her new position had been interesting to say the least. People knew your name, bowed to you, listened to what you had to saw. With her white hair, Olesya had long since stuck out as a bit of an oddity, but now her presence had some respect to it. It was a pleasant change in some aspects, though the celebrity status was a little uncomfortable.

The girl before her seemed young, with her big blue eyes and bouncy blonde hair and soft voice. She just radiated with innocence, and it was a bit offsetting for Olesya. She hadn't been innocent for many, many years, and standing next to her made her felt old and tarnished. She wasn't exactly sure how to handle her, as if she would break. Perhaps introductions were in order, if the girl knew her name, it was probably just to learn the girl's as well. What was the word for it...preseident's did it...like kissing babies and cutting ribbons at soup kitchens. Diplomacy, that was it. Diplomacy.

"What's your name, child?"

She asked, trying to add a casual tone to her voice. Her posture was still straight and her presence slightly authoritive, but she was trying to be kind. A for effort, right? She handed the eggplant to the grocer, who put it in a back for her.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Child. Innocent.

A bolt of pain shot through Kyrie, and for the briefest of moments, both the pain and weight of much more was reflected within her blue eyes before they rapidly cleared. It would have been more easy to control, but after Mason, she was cracking. But Kyrie would not show it to someone that was a literal stranger to her despite her honoured rank. She blinked slowly, owlishly, but not to deceive. Just to distract.

"Kiyr Barrial."

The blonde didn't bother to even try to correct Olesya; people would see what they wanted and Kyrie's small, slender form, narrow face, and almost-too-large blue eyes had given her the advantage in the years she had survived on her own. The blonde was quite used to letting people form their own opinions on her. That she still seemed so young and innocent to someone that didn't have a clue was probably a good thing. And there was no way that she was going to explain why, either. There was only one person at present that knew what she'd gone through from what he had seen and experienced--that hadn't even been her choice, but she didn't resent him for knowing. It was just as much out of his hands as it had been, hers.

She managed a small smile along with her introduction, mostly because she picked up on some slight tension - discomfort, almost, really - in the way Olesya stood and spoke. It was difficult, because of the pain and not so much the prickle of insult - she hadn't been a child for a long time, but chose to hold on to certain aspects that made her outlook different than others'; she was not innocent, nor was she jaded - that that one word inflicted. Unintentionally, she fully realized. Had Mason not done what he had she could have even smothered the flicker of pain from her gaze in that unguarded moment.

So she stood calmly enough, though her eyes would frequently move to scan and look around.

[Your Mom~]

Now that the focus was on her, it seemed the blonde was a girl of few words. She was respectful, but closed off. Granted, Olesya didn't blame her as she wasn't a beacon of emotional charity herself, it just made breaking the ice incredibly...awkward.

"Kiyr. Nice name."

The girl's outfit caught her attention, as it too was relatively unusual. It looked slightly militaristic, but could a child be a soldier? Maybe she wasn't as young as Olesya thought. Maybe it belonged to an older sister. Maybe...no...

"You..."

She raised her hand slowly, poking at the air between them twice.

"You fought the cowardly lion. Didn't you? Back at the school ruins. A while back."

She clarified, realizing that not everyone followed her sense of name branding. What had that lion's name been? Mat...Mat-jestic? Something stupid. Olesya was bad with name sometimes, hence the adoption of easier to remember (and clear better) nick names.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie was generally of few words unless she was with those closest to her; obviously being of few words would give aspects of herself away, but better that than saying too much to a complete stranger: one she had yet to trust more than any other member of the Dragons. Not even her title afforded her the trust she held for even one of the three people currently closest to her. With Olesya's eyes sweeping her form with greater attention she held almost perfectly still, save to shift so the hilt of the visible dagger she carried was positioned just a little further away.

The pokes at the air surprised her, and her gaze shot to the hand with a quick, quiet intensity as she assessed whether it was threatening or not. Just as quick, the blonde's gaze pierced up into Olesya's own. She didn't move.

It was an aspect of her brother's she was unconsciously mimicking at the moment, a sort of calm before the storm.

So far, Olesya hadn't threatened her, though the gesture certainly had alarmed her instincts.

"...I came to aid you and Delilah along with David and the Sky Force, yes." She confirmed with a slight, gentle nod of her head. It wasn't hard to unearth what Olesya had meant.

[Your Mom~]

There was something about the girl that bothered Olesya, maybe because she was so cute and innocent, seemingly untouched by the horrors of the world. She appeared to be everything that Olesya was not; The light to her dark, the sweet to her cool calculating, the cute to her mutilated. Well, Olesya wasn't mutilated, she had a decent number of scars here and there, but her eyes and hair reminded her every day of what Barker did to her, how he ruined her life and possibly killed her family.

It just unnerverd her, she didn't dislike the girl. Hell, she hardly knew her.

"You've worked with David?"

She asked, a shred of genuine curiosity peeking through her almost interrogative tone. It wasn't that she meant to sound interrogative, just the chemicals and isolation had weathered away her finer socializing skills. She was much better than she was months ago whens he was first released from the halfway house.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie's head tilted to the side at the question. She considered the tone carefully. Genuinely curious, but that...wasn't always hard to fake.

"I have, worked with and fought alongside, and will continue to do so when he calls upon me."

There was a sort of finality to her tone. Not signifying their conversation's end, but rather that her aid was something she would give without reserve. It was still soft-spoken but undeniably unyielding all the same. She did not mention she was no longer part of the Sky Force; that had been between her and David, and thus would stay that way. It wasn't like it was a secret from the general Dragon Population, necessarily. She blinked slowly, watching Olesya quietly and steadily when her gaze wasn't scanning the area with an edge.

[Your Mom~]

Olesya nodded, as she figured was right in this sort of social interaction. She had no grounds to judge this girl, she had helped save her and Delilah's lives, and was trusted enough by David to work alongside him.

"Good. David needs strong people to watch his back."

That was a compliment, right? Damn, she was so bad at this. As if to break the tension, a small brown haired girl catapulted through the crowd and grabbed Olesya by the middle. Les braced herself, grinning slightly as she hugged the girl with one arm while holding the eggplant away safely in the other.

"This is Maddie, she's my ward. And David's too, it seems. Maddie, say hi to Kiyr, where are your manners?"

The little brunette looked at the blonde woman and smiled brightly.

"Hi Kiyr!"

Maddie was friendly and chatty in all the ways that Olesya was not. Perhaps it was the cloud of youth and innocence that kept her that way. It was a bit of fresh air for Les, it let her relax a little.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Olesya's words were taken as they were said. It was wholly true, after all, but more than that...

"We a--"

Movement caught her gaze and the small blonde shifted to meet the perceived, incoming threat, squaring her body off with it while her hand shot towards the dagger she'd shifted away from Olesya. The movement came to an abrupt halt halfway there and crystalline blue eyes stared at the girl. Then looked around. If Maddie was a balm for Olesya, she only added a new kind of tension for Kiyr. A child. A child. And by Olesya's words, a family. Above all else, family was to be protected and even though Maddie's presence literally put Kyrie on her back foot, Kyrie felt the keen urge to bolt. Or to snap at Olesya. Didn't she know?!

'And David's? ...it seems like him--'[/color]

The smile took Kyrie almost completely unawares and from a frantic search with her eyes she suddenly stilled. Stared. Deeper, harder than Olesya's words when she called Kyrie herself a child, this lance of pain struck deeper. The bright smile, the innocent and carefree demeanour. An image superimposed itself over Maddie. Strawberry blonde hair. Blue eyes that hovered on the edge of a teal. Sunshine and warmth.

'Alessandra.' The name was felt, more than the echo of thought that came about was heard.

For a few moments, there was the unmistakeable look of a deer in the headlights upon Kyrie's face. It hurt: her heart gave a hard, clenched shudder. She couldn't deal with that over everything else, not with all the apparent, sudden implications.

But it was rude to turn away, and equally rude to ignore the girl, and just as bad to turn and yell at Olesya.

The hand that hovered in front of her body was slowly extended, and Kyrie summoned a smile for the true child of the three. She swallowed before speaking, her voice going softer, still, because of the sudden surge of emotion she was wrestling with. The image of her youngest sister faded to leave the brunette smiling at her once again. She crouched just a little so she was eye-level with Olesya's young charge.

"Hello. It is a pleasure to meet you, Maddie."

Nerves piquing further, Kyrie's gaze held Maddie's own for as long as she dared before she was looking around once again. After she finished her survey, her gaze sharpened and connected with Olesya's. Questioning, but what specifically there was no clue; if the truth were to be known, the blonde Barrial was questioning more than just one thing in particular. It hid all demands and warning beneath that. And just as quickly, her gaze returned to Maddie's, softening for the girl. [/font]

[Your Mom~]

It was clear that Maddie's presence warmed up Olesya expression and posture. She ruffled the girl's hair, looking back up to Kiyr, who appeared to be expreiencing a myriad of emotions. She noticed a couple different changes appear in her expression, but her empathy skills weren't nearly what they used to be and the signals were lost on Olesya. She just recognized that there were changes, probably brought on by her young ward's presence.

Did she not like children?

No..that couldn't be it, as she was polite to Maddie, soft even, if 'soft' was an adequate term for emotion. Olesya didn't understand it, and was caught in between her warmth at Maddie's presence and her usual utilitarian countenance. She would settle somewhere in the middle, if that were possible.

Ah, well, yes. We'd better be going. Nice to meet you, Kiyr, I'm sure we'll be working together again soon."

That was polite, wasn't it? It would have to suffice. Bagged eggplant in her left hand, she would offer a fist over her heart with her right hand, more of a casual salute than a stiff and proper one, before opening her hand and bringing it down to Maddie's shoulder, gently steering the girl in the direction of their home.

[ooc: lol awkward Les is awkward XD]

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie's eyes lifted at her name, then flicked back to the young girl. She slowly nodded and stood, spine straight even as she swept her gaze around again.

"Have a good day, Olesya, Maddie."

Despite the casual nature of Olesya's bow, the blonde's was more formal, but kept with her normal fluidity. If ever there was a time for Kyrie, it would have been in ages long past. The light that had been both haunted and pained, soft and warm, faded in the young woman's soft blue eyes.

"Umacoy. Kiynt ran famm; hudrehk ec ajan cu cyva, yho muhkan."

If it ever was.

Kyrie lifted her voice. It was still soft enough that she wasn't anywhere near yelling, but it was firm and unyielding. A cautioning warning, more than her berating David's Voice - or more, but she didn't dwell on that with so much going on around her - though she would have liked to say more. Kyrie twisted and dissipated into shadow to move through the crowd, emerging on the other side, her pace brisk. She had to find materials for the water issue. She knew what she needed. The next step was finding someone that could make a prototype.

Either a Dragon or perhaps she would even outsource to the Crows; they were their allies, after all.

Regardless, she needed to keep her mind busy to keep the paranoia and fear at bay.

[Your Mom~]

Olesya paused as the Dragonspeak hit her ears, the tone soft and willowy like the girl's speech. Kiynt ran famm...guard her well. From just about anyone, Olesya would have perceived that as a threat...was that a threat? No, a warning. A caution. Almost a well wish, but much more guarded.

She turned back to look at the girl, but she had already disappeared into the crowd. After a moment of glancing around, she turned back to her original direction and began walking again.

"What was that, Les?"

"Nothing...thought I heard something. Do you want to carry the bag?"

She offered the young girl the eggplant, Maddie's eyes lit up and she took the bag with both hands.

"Yes!"

"Hahah, you're a good helper."

She smiled, ruffling the girl's hair again as they made their way home.