[Thread] Some stability within the chaos.

[cinqtioned]

Characters: Relena Darlian (OU) and Chang Wufei (OU)
Where: the bank
When: backdated to after this
Summary: Relena meets Wufei at the bank to help clarify the situation.
Warnings: shouldn't be any, will edit if any arise

Comments

[preventerchang]

"Not for long," he said with a nod of respect as he moved closer, his dark eyes more on their surroundings than on her. It was perhaps paranoid of him, but he was becoming more and more aware that this place was nothing like it had at first seemed to him. First a Relena who was not Relena, and a Quatre who was not Quatre -- and now, this second Relena, who, in the way she moved and spoke and the things she had said earlier, gave every indication of being the true Vice Foreign Minister.

What was going to happen to the Earth Sphere with her disappearance? He was not conceited enough to believe that his position within the Preventers would cause any sort of breakdown in operations, but Relena's position and character was one of such enormous influence that it was possible that the tenuous peace the Preventers fought to protect could be broken to pieces in her absence.

If she died in this place, and was unable to return, those broken pieces might well burn to ashes.

What had his fellow former Gundam pilots been thinking, leaving her unprotected in this prison camp?

"You moved swiftly. You know the layout of this place well, then?"

[cinqtioned]

To say that his words surprised her would have been an understatement, for a moment, she merely stared at him, as if she expected him to add more after the question, but none came. Usually it was talk of her wandering around alone, at 'improper' hours and in areas that were shady and not to be trusted, not something that sounded akin to a compliment and a question about her knowledge of Neocontra. That alone instantly gained points with the politician who'd grown tired of being treated like a piece of thing, fragmented glass that could shatter at any moment.

"Yes," she said after a moment, snapping herself out of her thoughts. "I've been here several months. Almost seven."

[preventerchang]

He allowed himself to absorb the information, his face not showing the shock he felt at her statement.

If she had been here seven months ... then she was either not the Relena Darlian he had met in his own world -- or the one he knew in his own world was a fake.

It was possible, if he took into account the things the other Relena had said, took into account the older Quatre he had briefly met and spoken with before leaving on his own, needing time to allow himself to acknowledge the possibility that he was no longer on his own world.

Strangely, the fact that she was probably not the Relena he had met at various times through his work with the Preventers did not really bother him, when he examined it seriously.

He hadn't known her personally in his world. That didn't matter.

She was still, without doubt, the Vice Foreign Minister -- if not in his reality, then in a different reality -- and he was still a Preventer, if not from her reality. As a Preventer, it was his duty to ensure that the Vice Foreign Minister had proper protection when in need, no matter where she was, or what she faced. Or even what world she came from.

"If you've been here that long, then you know better than I do the dangers of this place. Should we keep moving?"

He did not bother to ask if it was safe here -- he knew very well that it was not. From her caution it appeared she knew of the risk she was taking to come to his location, possibly endangering herself in order to meet a man she hardly knew and offer him explanation of the surreal situation he had found himself in. He'd heard Relena Darlian spoken of as being foolhardy, but there was nothing in her records which spoke of any lack in intelligence, and he had dismissed those opinions as uninformed. It was not foolhardiness when one was aware of the danger, and chose to move forward anyway, judging the goal was worth the risk.

Wufei had for some time privately considered the Vice Foreign Minister to be a braver, stronger person than himself. It was gratifying to see that, in this case at least, he had been correct.

That she probably wasn't 'his' Vice Foreign Minister ceased to be an issue for him. The only thing that mattered was that she had survived in this place for so long, and now that he was here, he intended to fulfill his duty as a Preventer to make sure she remained alive to return the world her strength was needed in, whether that was his own or another.

(OOC: he's such a fan. hehe. also, please forgive any redundancies on his part, since this takes place before his other meetings with the pilots)

[cinqtioned]

Relena nodded. She did indeed know the dangers of this compound. It wasn't dark out yet, but the sun was beginning to set, and with that came the more shady residents. And the vampires. She wasn't entirely sure how many vampires were within the compound, exactly, but knew that the vampire who had bit her and scarred the otherwise flawless skin on the left side of her neck, Harth Fray, was still at large. She'd seen his entries to the comms and although she read them, as she read nearly every entry that was made, she avoided commenting. The less she saw of that being, the better.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she added, "Yes, that's probably best."

[preventerchang]

Wufei watched Relena's expression change in silence, and was certain that she was considering the dangers of their current location. He wondered briefly if the adamantly pacifistic Vice Foreign Minister allowed herself to bear weapons in this place, even if only in self-defense.

That would need to be discussed sooner rather than later.

Until he had further explored the compound and completed reconnaisance, it would be foolish and arrogant of him to take the lead. Later, he might taken the proper guarding position. "Then if you will please lead us," Wufei said, inclining his head towards the open doorway.

[cinqtioned]

Asking her to lead the way was somewhat of a new concept to her. Usually, she was fed instructions to follow whomever was with her so that they could catch danger before she saw it. Relena never saw the logic in this, finding it much more sensible for a bodyguard to be keeping an eye on her back, an area she couldn't see with her eyes, rather than walking in front of her and looking around for what her own eyes were perfectly capable of detecting. She wasn't blind, nor was she stupid--Relena knew what to look for and was smart enough to bring the attention of whoever happened to be with her towards it if they hadn't already caught it themselves.

Nodding, she turned and led the way, glancing back to make sure he was following. A thought occurred to her suddenly and she asked, "To where am I leading you, exactly, Preventer Chang?"

[preventerchang]

Wufei looked back at her with an expression of polite amusement. "I have no idea, Miss Darlian. You're the one who knows this compound, not I."

He shrugged, not removing his hands from his pockets. "I leave it to your judgment. A more secure location for speaking at length would be preferred. Failing that ... somewhere warm would be good." The thin jacket he'd been wearing when he was brought to the compound was little protection against the chill of winter that permeated even inside the building.

[cinqtioned]

"To the Church," she said without hesitation, turning in that direction once they exited the building that had once housed large sums of money. While Relena herself believed in God, she wasn't religious and admittedly hadn't stepped foot in the Church since she'd first arrived and had walked around the compound to get a better feel of where she was being held captive.

"It's warm in there, I believe," she continued, "and I doubt any of the vampires or other hostile individuals would go there."

(( ooc: uhg, i am so sorry for how late/sporadic i've been. the holidays + a bad case of the flu = me failing at tags. >< ))

[preventerchang]

Though Wufei was intent on looking around and monitoring their progress, he was still paying close attention to Miss Darlian's words. Vampires? he thought to himself, a little startled. Did she mean -- preposterous, but what he'd read on the communication device -- or perhaps it was a simple issue of 'Vampires' being the name assumed by a group of unsavory inhabitants. Either way, his questions on that could wait until they reached the Church. "Then it sounds ideal. Thank you for your assistance."

[cinqtioned]

Little did Wufei know that the vampires were quite literally that - vampires. Relena had proof of their existence on her neck, though she tried to keep it covered discreetly with make-up, but some of the faint markings from where Harth Fray's teeth had sunk into her neck could be seen through the foundation that was put over it. She hadn't believed it at first, either, and it wasn't until she'd gotten bitten that she'd accepted the reality of their existence. Things that were mere science fiction and stuff of fairy tales back home were, unfortunately, very much real here.

Being thank for her assistance, by one of the pilots who wasn't Quatre Winner, was again something that caught her off guard and there was a moment's hesitation in her step as she turned her head to glance back at him curiously. While she appreciated the polite words and tone, the formalities, it was going to take some adjusting to.

She reached the Church in no time and led the way in, not at all surprised to find it deserted. Not many people seemed to hang around here.

[preventerchang]

Entering the Church, Wufei felt a distinct sense of relief -- of safety inherent in the empty echo of the sound of their footsteps that filled the still air of the great hall. It was warmer than the outside had been simply for the fact that there were walls to keep out the chill of the wind and no snow lay piled inside the building. He continued to follow Relena inside, relaxing a little though he kept a sharp eye on the exits and entrances to the sanctuary that he could see.

Wasting her time, or his, would be counterproductive, and they had already taken care of the formalities. She had spoken earlier of the Entropi -- she seemed to be referring to the hovering surveillance/detainment devices he had observed around the walls of the compound, though he had also seen them referred to as 'Keepers' on the posts he had viewed on his PDA made by other unknown individuals. This term seemed to be interchangeably used for those devices as well as the people holding them captive here. It was a conversation he was not eager to have just yet, being slightly more concerned with the dangers presented by the other rabble located inside the compound than by the ones outside the compound at the moment.

It was her safety and current situation which interested him more than his own, but he thought it would be impolite to enquire too directly. He did not want to imply that he thought her incapable -- she had lived here this long, without the benefit of proper protection, and that was a sign that she was hardly incompetent. "I met the other Relena, earlier," he said, referring back to the short altercation which had resulted in the ankle he was still favoring, if slightly and as well-hidden as he possibly could. "As well as Heero, and Quatre -- though he seems to be not the same Quatre that I know, much as the other Relena is not yourself. I had some difficulties speaking with them." Those difficulties had been on his own end, but he did not need to say that to her. He was certain she had picked up that much from his earlier posts on the PDAs. "I'm not sure who I can trust here," he said, the admission one he disliked needing to make, but it needed to be stated.

[preventerchang]

[OOC: we done here?]