Over the River and Through the Woods (Private)

This man sure talked a lot. Fen wasn’t exactly a fan of someone talking in such a way. Sure, a long and elaborate speech – any day. But he was just listing things like this, even lettering them. That was kind of boring. She also had to follow his movements as he said all this, due to him scrutinizing her like this. That was odd, but then again, not necessarily the oddest thing she had seen so far. And it seemed harmless enough so far, thus giving him a smile.

"My name is Fenice, Mr. Lancelot. And actually I would like to know a lot of things. This is all a bit sudden, you know, so, um, does that mean I can’t go back home and stuff? You kind of made it sound like that, but I still kind of hoped there was a way to, I don’t know, dodge those evil people and still somehow go on with the life?”

Her insecurity was clearly audible there, along with the fact that she did not really get it just yet. But then again, this was kind of more than she could comprehend on short notice, after all.
She wasn't even making her own sentences flowery or anything, just talked very, very nonchalantly there. That only really happened when she was in situations like this.

Deadly serious for a moment, she took in a deep breath. She was used to Saito mocking her, but he had dared mock her fierces beast, too? Her pride and joy? She had limits and he was very close to drawing at the end of one. Luckily for him, she honestly couldn't release him without repercussions from the humans around the world. But that didn't mean that she couldn't see how far he was willing to pull off his bravado in front of the girl., Fenice.  Aside from that Fenice was probably wondering about their Fullbrings. What was the harm in doing a little exhibition? Before she could, however, she briefly slapped him on his side as he answered her.

Turning her face to Fenice, she conveyed her apologies with her eyes before speaking. What an idiot, he made it sound like they were forcing her into this even farther than before. "You can be around your family and return to normalcy...in about two months. Two months is all it will take, maximum speed, for us to have your Fullbring mastered and you in top soldier condition. After that, so long as you check in often, I have no problem with you being out there. But you need to work for that time. Unfortunately, as my dimwit partner just menacingly added," she paused to point at him casually "if you're not with us then you're free game for the C.I.A. who's methods are much more...callous." And with that she stood up, ready to deliver a bit of fun with the man in front of her. Facing Fenice, she carefully took the key off of the chain around her neck.

"Show yourself, my Fullbring, the Queen's Key." Normally she wouldn't have announced the name, but she was trying to show Fenice about her Fullbring at the same time as teaching Saito the proper fear necessary. The old, rusty, iron key licked at the green flames hungrily as the new golden, fish adorned key shown in the light. Walking away from them, she jabbed the key into the air as a door appeared. One turn of her key, with a vocal command, and any of her beasts could come flying through. She turned back to face them, smirking at Saito.

"Care to mock my darling Cerberus again, Saito?"

Everything was falling together; a perfect puzzle beginning to show the picture. She had successfully recruited her first member, not including Saito since he joined of his own free will, and it was feeling pretty good. Aikō wasn't lying to the girl at all, it was just the way the words flew from her that surprised the young Fullbringer. She was a natural leader for many reasons - her ability to stay calm, her control, everything that made her who she was. However, she had no real practice being a leader since Saito was a leader alongside her. She had no control over him, not that she wanted it, but she had no real practice as being a leader. As such this first meeting, this first recruitment, held more value than anything else leading up to that point. 

She was surprised at how sure she was able to make herself seem, how she convinced even herself with her words. It made her chest swell with pride at her development, figuratively, even as she sat on her snake throne. She grinned at Saito, crossing her legs once more as she sat atop Asclepius. 

"I will admit yours is cool, but, just not as cool as mine." She winked at him and smiled, despite the threats she spewed at him he knew that most of it was a joke. She had never really gotten mad at the man, and he already knew everything about her Fullbring. It was just his personality to test her and hers to not back down. She looked down at Fenice and laughed, just a bit. "Go ahead, he won't bite unless I tell him to. Honestly, despite his appearance, he's one of my kindest beasts. He can't speak english, but I can translate his snake language if you'd like to talk to him. And pish posh, darling. I understand where you're coming from. You're overwhelmed with information, being backed into a corner for something that you couldn't have possibly avoided. It's stressful. But that's why we're here. We're your crutches, we'll take you in like our child and raise and train you until you can return to your real family. But that's only once you're our equal; not just a fledgling bird yearning to fly from the nest." It was mostly a repeat of everything they've told her, but she wanted to make sure that the young woman was completely assured before she ventured forward.

Looking at Saito and his performance, she sighed loudly acting as if she was exasperated with the man. Chin on her knee and face in her palm, she grinned at him. "Not like I didn't see it coming. When the hell do you ever listen to me?" Everything was going forward from that point. The picture, though sometimes becoming obscured in her search, was slowly becoming something with much more clarity.