• _soleverity.

_{The restlessness she felt continued to weigh down on her already worn body.}

_{Even with the seemingly calm and composed airs she appeared to give off with each stride she took, there was no denying the agitation that was slowly building up in her chest. Her paced footsteps fell silent over the grounds and the occasional patches of grass, while dark eyes swept through her surroundings, searching. That day, unlike their usual repetitive lessons and briefing on their current operation, their training had consisted of a long-distance practice excursion around the outskirts of the HQ’s territory – and although she had no qualms at all about going along with training, let alone complete her tasks for that day, something else had been nagging at the back of her mind since the other day.}

_{It had been roughly two days since she’s had a proper talk with her adoptive brother– and if it weren’t for the brief glimpses and quick waving from afar, it might’ve been safe to say that she hadn’t met up with him at all in that span of time. She had seen how exhausted he would appear when evening arrived, and by then he was usually surrounded with those people from the Special Ops Squad – and no sooner would he be sent to his quarters underground to sleep. Yet despite her attempts of self-reassurance, she just can’t seem to let go of her concerns.}

_{Her feet led her down the path to the horse stables – a place where she would often find the others stationed at, especially in the morning. Stopping a distance across the stable doors, she glanced through the area for signs of her hardheaded brother, to no avail.}

_{Lips pursed, her eyes trailed down to the ground, and for a moment the faintest hints of tiredness surfaced from those dark irises of hers. But her eyes briefly fluttered closed, and she moved to turn away and walk back–}

_{Coincidentally, another set of footsteps resounded faintly against the ground from somewhere behind her, catching her attention; a swift turn of her head, she articulated a brief, “Ere–…”   But her expectant gaze fell short, settling upon another pair of eyes. Eyes that were too unmistakably dissimilar to compare to those of brother’s.}

_{“… Ah… Jean,” she murmured, almost to herself– but nevertheless regained her composure soon after. She found it a bit odd, though. Wasn’t he usually with the other recruits at this time? The evening sky had tinted the land in a soft orange yet purplish gradient; surely he would’ve been attending to dinner as the others would by now.}