#team wlow

[sustraiii]

THE VICTOR | A ZRCN SPECIAL REWRITE

As with the rewrite of arc 1 and the continued rewrite of arc 2, it felt right to update what ended up being the only special of the whole fic.

So enjoy!

Wren

The Vytal Festival was one of the few times Huntsmen and Huntresses in training got to prove themselves at such a grand scale. Wren had waited eagerly for her time to participate, missing her first opportunity two years prior when her team was not selected to attend, before finally getting her chance this year.

Only some teams got to participate in the festival during their school years so when Team WLOW were finally invited to compete for Atlas in Atlas, Wren was determined to make the most of it. She attended as many matches as she could - lessons permitting - watching eagerly to see how the other teams performed, met with contestants from the other academies, and frequented many of the events the academy hosted in tandem with the actual tournament.

Team WLOW had easily moved past the teams round but it would be in the doubles round where they would meet their downfall.

Wren had known they were going to compete against the Valean Team COPR and had rewatched their previous match to prepare. Initially, Wren had wanted to put herself and Stanford forward to compete, but Lorelei had been persistent in asking to accompany Wren. Against her better judgment, Wren eventually relented and agreed to let Lorelei be her partner.

Facing off against Otso Umber and Raleigh Radcliff, Wren initially felt in high spirits and liked the odds that the battle could have gone either way. As it drew to a close, Wren was confident that she and Lorelei might even have been able to win. They had succeeded in chipping away at their two opponents steadily throughout the match, with Wren utilising her clones to deal primarily with Raleigh, whilst she and Lorelei tried to deal with Otso.

As the battle was winding down, Otso had his massive greatsword drawn back ready to attack. Wren motioned to Lorelei to stay back and deal with Raleigh, knowing that she stood a better chance against the ursine man with her weapon. One or two direct blasts with the missiles from her weapon ought to have taken his aura down to a critical level and handed them the win.

Wren was rushing forward when suddenly she collided with Lorelei, who ignored Wren’s instructions and seemed set on dealing with Otso herself and ignoring Wren’s earlier instruction in the middle of battle. The two women stumbled and fell before quickly trying to separate their tangled bodies. Lorelei promptly gave her a mouthful for not looking where she was going as they did so, meanwhile, Wren just stared back unable to believe what she was hearing whilst quietly seething about how Lorelei dared to be angry with her.

Although Lorelei was able to get back onto her feet, neither woman was aptly prepared to deal with the counterstrike from Otso after their accident. Lorelei was only standing upright for a few moments before her legs buckled and she started screaming as she was struck by Otso’s pain-inflicting semblance. Wren could feel it prickling at the edges of her mind too, though shielded her ears to try and nullify the effects as best she could. Left defenceless after this, neither of them could counter the shockwave that came when Otso’s weapon struck the ground near them and dropped both their auras below the critical level.

Despite the pain of losing, Wren tried her best to be gracious about the defeat. She shook hands with both of her opponents - ignoring the smug brag from Raleigh in the process - and bid a humble farewell to the home crowd as they left the arena for the last time as competitors. 

It was only in the wake of their defeat that irritation took root in her heart and began to bloom. 

A day had barely passed before Lorelei began to complain about the defeat speaking in vague terms that hinted about how the loss was Wren’s fault without actually outright blaming her. Looking at her now as she spoke with Stanford, choosing her words carefully so as not to outright blame Wren for the loss, Wren just wanted to hit her.  So much so, in fact, that Wren found her hands clenched into fists. She could not say for certain whether she would have had more luck if she had been allowed to partner with Stanford as she had initially wanted, but they certainly would have fared much better. He probably would have given that irritating Raleigh a harder time at least.

Wren was beginning to wonder how much longer she could listen to Lorelei’s excuses without flying across the room and slapping her. It was a relief when she was aware of Olive’s presence next to her, her green-haired teammate having drifted over from where she had been reading in the corner of their dorm.

A hand rested comfortingly on her shoulder. “You seem a little stressed,” Olive observed, tip-toeing slightly to whisper in Wren’s ear.  “Do you want to get out for a bit? Maybe go to the fair?”

“That sounds like a lovely idea,” Wren responded softly. With Lorelei having corralled Stanford into a forced conversation, the two of them saw their opportunity to sneak out of the room hopefully unnoticed. Unfortunately, they were not so lucky in that regard.

“And where do you two think you’re going?” Lorelei asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Behind her, Stanford shot them a sympathetic glance. Out of WLOW, Stanford seemed to be the only one Lorelei could truly tolerate, which was amusing given how much she could annoy him as well.

“We’re heading out for a little bit,” Olive answered.  “I thought Wren could do with a little cheering up after that defeat.”

Lorelei eyed them carefully for a moment. “I think our time would be better used discussing what went wrong,” Wren noted how the woman’s violet gaze shifted to her momentarily, and she felt the heat rise to her cheeks, “and how we can overcome this.”

Wren felt an angry barb threatening to spill out of her mouth, so it was lucky when Olive intervened for her. 

“Oh fuck off, Lorelei,” Olive said, waving her off. “Don’t act like you care about team tactics after that stunt you played in the last match.”

Following Olive’s remark, Lorelei merely gawked at the two of them. Wren suspected she might have had something to say in response had it not been for Olive promptly pulling Wren out of the dorm with her and hurrying down the corridor. They paused once they were a safe distance away and were certain Lorelei hadn’t followed them. Both Wren and Olive looked at each other awkwardly before bursting out laughing, neither of them seeming to believe what Olive had just said. They let their giggles out before regaining their composure and heading out to the festival grounds in the city. 

***

“I swear that woman is insufferable!”

Next to her, Olive nodded her head in agreement, whilst managing to swallow a mouthful of noodles. After escaping from the room, the pair made their way down to the fairground that had been set up for the festival. It wasn’t as large or as grand as some of the fairgrounds that the other kingdoms put together, but by Atlesian standards, it was fairly decent. After perusing some of the items on offer, Olive had led her to a noodle stall called “Deal or Noo-deal”, and bought them two large bowls, offering to pay for the meal as part of a “cheer up” present for Wren.

“You know I’ll be glad when we graduate and can go our own ways,” Wren admitted, earning a glance from Olive. She knew her friend well enough to know it wasn’t a judgemental look but rather one borne of curiosity.  “You, Stan, and me, we should form a team together, Lorelei be damned. We’ll call ourselves Team WOW.”

Olive laughed, quickly swallowing her mouthful of noodles lest she choke. “The feeling is mutual you know.”

“How so?” Wren quirked a brow. Was Olive referring to herself and Stanford?

“Lorelei has mentioned wanting to form our own ‘mini team’ numerous times before. Without you, of course,” Olive said setting down her chopsticks. Wren rolled her eyes. “She thinks you’re holding us back.”

“Of course she would,” Wren scoffed. “Her head is so far up her own ass I’m surprised she could tell.”

At this, Olive snorted with laughter, and Wren couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

“Whilst that sounds like a nice idea, I thought you’d been offered the chance to become a specialist by the army?” Olive said once they had both calmed down. “Wouldn’t that kinda prevent the three of us from operating as a team?” Olive pointed out.

“Oh, I was offered that, but I’m not sure if it’s what I want right now,” Wren admitted, with an awkward shrug. She had never been opposed to becoming a specialist, seeing it as an opportunity to do some real good in the kingdom, whilst also having a bit more structure and stability than regular Huntsmen had. Time in the academy had made her less keen to join once she graduated and more keen to explore her options as an independent Huntress. 

“What?!” Olive exclaimed. “Why not? You’d make a great specialist!”

“Thanks,” Wren said, smiling at the compliment. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I’d still like to become one, but I’d rather do other things first, and I don’t know, get out there and see the world. Plus, if they want me that bad I’m sure they won’t mind waiting a few years, right?”

Olive shrugged at the last part but offered a sympathetic smile. “Hey, it’s your life, Wren, live it as you see fit,” Olive said. “If you are thinking of holding off for a few years, I hope that means we get to go on a few more adventures together after graduation.”

“Of course we will,” Wren smiled. “You promised me you’d show me Vale, remember?”

The pair continued to eat their meal, mostly talking about the tournament so far, and who they predicted to win. With their team’s defeat, only a handful of competitors were left, though there was still one doubles match to be fought out. Olive seemed to think a young man from Mistral had a good shout. Wren seemed more convinced by the Vacuo team that had far exceeded everyone’s expectations. As Wren launched into a lengthy conversation about why the Vacuo team might be the winner, she noted her partner’s gaze shift to somewhere behind her before suddenly looking forward.

“Don’t turn around.” Olive urged.

“What, why?”

But Wren had her answer when a familiar voice rang in her ears.

“Well, well, if it isn’t little Birdy and Olivine!”

Wren swiftly turned around in her seat, spotting the person the voice belonged to - Raleigh Radcliff. As if the day wasn’t bad enough already, the very man she and Lorelei had lost to, was also approaching - the abnormally tall, Otso Umber. 

“That’s not my name.” Wren snapped, halting them in their tracks. “And that’s not her name either.”

“What?”

“Olive Vines,” Olive clarified, turning around to face the two as Wren was. She flashed them a falsely sweet smile. “It’s two names actually but it's an easy mistake.”

“My name isn’t Birdy,” Wren said soon after, “It is Wren. Wren Honeycutt.”

Raleigh made a shrug, feigning an apologetic look for having gotten her name wrong. “So, what were you two talking about?”

Wren groaned inwardly, wishing that of all the members of Team COPR they hadn’t been stuck with these two. Otso was fine, if a little unnervingly quiet, but Raleigh was far too smug for her tastes. His bravado reminded her of some of the male students at the academy who seemed intent on flirting with her if they were put together in class. What she wouldn’t have done for the company of Priscilla Chiffon from Team COPR, at least she was more polite than her teammates and would have fit in better with Olive and Wren. 

“We were talking about who will win the tournament,” Wren responded, moving to turn away from them.

“Ah, so us then,” Raleigh said gesturing to himself and Otso behind him.

“What, no!” Wren protested, having turned around to face them again. “Him, maybe,” She gestured towards Otso, “but you certainly don’t strike me as winning material.”

Raleigh’s smile faded slightly but he pushed on. “Well you still lost to us didn’t you?”

Wren groaned, rolling her eyes a little. “Don’t remind me.”

“Tell me, Wren, are you a betting woman?” Raleigh suddenly asked.

Wren blinked in surprise, eyeing him suspiciously. “Depends,” She said slowly. “Why do you ask?”

“You seem so determined to believe we won’t win, so let’s have a little fun with it,” He responded. “Fifty Lien sound reasonable to you?”

“What are the terms first?” Wren cut in.

“Well, if you’re right and we do lose, I’ll pay you fifty Lien, and as a bonus, I’ll treat you to a lovely gift from one of these stalls,” Raleigh began, taking a moment to pause so the first of his terms had time to sink in.

Wren made a show of looking as though she were deeply considering his terms. “The Lien would do fine, but if you want to go out of your way to spend more, go ahead,” Wren cut in, with a sweet smile playing on her lips. “I’m in need of a new pair of boots anyway.”

Raleigh studied her carefully for a moment, returning her smile with a dazzlingly charming one, before finishing the terms of his little wager.  “If I’m right, and we win, you owe me fifty Lien, and you have to go on a date with me.”

Wren’s brows raised in surprise, and beside her, she could hear Olive protesting against this. After a moment of thinking this over, she extended a hand for him to shake. “Deal.”

With a small chuckle, Raleigh reached out and shook her hand. He was still holding her hand when he bent his head and kissed her knuckles lightly.  “I look forward to our date.” He said, relinquishing her hand with a wink as he and his friend departed.

Wren watched the two of them leave, suddenly aware of the warmth in her cheeks, though she didn’t know if it was out of anger at his teasing or because she had actually rather enjoyed the little kiss on her knuckles.

Once they were gone, both women turned back to their bowls of noodles.

“I can’t believe you just made a bet with him,” Olive said shaking her head. “You know you really will  have to go on a date with him if he wins.”

“Him, winning?” Wren threw her head back in false laughter. “That won’t happen in a million years, especially not against that Vacuo team.” Or rather that was the hope at least. Team TEAL had gone from rank outsiders to one of the favourites to win. Although she didn’t know which team member would be stepping up, Wren didn’t think Raleigh would be able to compete with the likes of Tequila Alvarado or Bailey Estrada.

Olive shook her head again, this time in a more amused fashion. “If you say so, Wren,” She said, before picking up some more noodles between her chopsticks.  “Just remember that when you come crawling to me complaining about having to go out with him then.”

“Oh, Livvy, you do worry too much sometimes,” Wren said, patting her friend on the shoulder. “Trust me, it’s never going to happen.”

[sustraiii]

what happened to the members of wlow and hnsa?

Figured I'll start with HNSA since they've been mentioned more times in the fic.

HNSA

We know how Helia is doing so I'll leave her out for now

Leyla and Anthea are recovering following the attack on Shizukana. Like Helia, they're still broken up about what happened to Alcyone but they have each other to lean on so that helps - discounting their brief relationship they were always close. Anthea has taken to looking after Leyla as she was in a better state following the attack due to you know...not having a broken arm.

WLOW

Much like Helia, we know what happened to Wren as she appears frequently in the fic.

Lorelei is currently the only deceased member of WLOW, having died back in 64 AV. She didn't exactly have a very notable life but remained a huntress up until her death. She was briefly in a proper relationship with Stanford which resulted in triplets (they're around the same age as Helia) but ultimately the relationship broke apart because Lorelei wasn't that interested in maintaining it to be honest.

We've seen Olive in the fic before but little is known about what happened to her after WLOW split. She enjoyed a mildly successful career as a huntress as all her teammates did. She eventually took early retirement to focus on building a family with Chen, and now does odd jobs around Apex or helps her husband with his artwork.

Stanford is the lesser-known member of WLOW. Like his teammates he enjoyed a successful career as a huntsman, somehow managing to balance raising three kids by himself at the same time. Currently, Stan works as a professor at a combat school.

[sustraiii]

can I ask if you have any allusions for wlow or hnsa?

Hey, I sure do!

WLOW

Wren - Alludes to the Jenny Wren from ‘The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren’ short story.

Lorelei - Based on the Germanic folklore character of the same name.

Olive - Alludes to the Greek titaness Theia.

Stanford - Alludes to Bernez from ‘The Stones of Plouhinec’ short story.

HNSA

Helia - Alludes to Helios, the god/personification of the sun in Greek myth. In myth he is said to be the son of Theia. Helia’s dual katanas also take their names from two of the horses who pulled Helios’s chariot.

Leyla - Alludes to Nyx, the goddess of the night in Greek myth.

Alcyone - Alludes to Bia, the personification of force, anger, and raw energy in Greek myth.

Anthea - Alludes to Alala, the personification of the war cry in Greek myth.

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN SPECIAL - The Victor

This is the first of what I hope to be many specials revolving around the fic. Like character shorts for the show, some of these will be linked to events in the story but won’t outright follow the main plot. Others (like this one) whilst linked to the story through characters will follow their own plot.

This special focuses on WLOW, and the early relationship between Wren and Raleigh.

Irritation bloomed within her in the wake of their defeat. This had been their last chance to win, or get closer to the finals, and now they had been knocked out. Wren might have been annoyed at the defeat, but at least she had managed to be gracious about it, unlike Lorelei.

Looking at her now as she spoke with Stanford, choosing her words carefully so as not to outright blame Wren for the loss, she just wanted to hit her. So much so, in fact, that Wren found her hands clenched into fists. She could not say for certain whether she would have had more luck if she had been allowed to partner with Stanford as she had initially wanted, but they certainly would have fared much better. He probably would have given that irritating Raleigh a harder time at least.

Not sure much longer she could bear to listen to Lorelei’s excuses, a wave of relief washed over her when she felt Olive’s soothing presence near her, a hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder.

“You seem stressed,” Olive observed, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Do you want to get out for a bit?”

“Please,” Wren responded with a small grin. She quickly rose to her feet, moving for the door before Lorelei’s voice called out to them.

“And where do you two think you’re going?” She asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Behind her, Stanford shot them a sympathetic glance. Out of all her teammates, Stanford seemed to be the only one Lorelei could truly tolerate, which was amusing given how much she could annoy him as well.

“We’re heading out for a little bit,” Olive answered for them, “I thought Wren could do with a little cheering up after that defeat.”

Lorelei eyed them carefully for a moment. “I think our time would be better used discussing what went wrong,” Wren noted how the woman’s violet gaze shifted to her momentarily, and she felt the heat rise to her cheeks, “and how we can overcome this.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not,” Wren commented coolly. With a look towards Olive, she grabbed her partner's wrist, and dashed out of the door with her, ignoring Lorelei’s shouts of protest in the background.

***

“I swear that woman is insufferable!”

Next to her, Olive nodded her head in agreement, whilst managing to swallow a mouthful of noodles. After escaping from the room, the pair had made their way down to the fairground set up in preparation for the festival. After perusing some of the items on offer, Olive had led her to a noodle stall, and bought them two large bowls, offering to pay for the meal as part of a “cheer up” present for Wren.

“You know I’ll be glad when we graduate and can go our own ways,” Wren admitted, earning a glance from Olive. “You, Stan, and me, we should form a team together, Lorelei be damned. We’ll call ourselves Team WOW.”

Olive laughed. “The feeling is mutual you know.”

“How so?”

“Lorelei has mentioned wanting to form our own ‘mini team’ numerous times before. Without you, of course,” Olive said setting down her chopsticks. Wren rolled her eyes. “She thinks you’re holding us back.”

“Of course she would,” Wren scoffed. “Her head is so far up her own ass I’m surprised she could tell.”

At this Olive snorted with laughter, and Wren couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

“Whilst that sounds like a nice idea, I thought you’d been offered the chance to become a specialist by the army? Wouldn’t that kinda prevent us from operating as a team?” Olive pointed out.

“Oh, I was offered that, but I’m not sure if it’s what I want right now,” Wren admitted, with an awkward shrug.

“What?!” Olive exclaimed. “Why not? You’d be great at it!”

“Thanks,” Wren said, smiling at the compliment. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I’d still like to become one, but I’d rather do other things first, and I don’t know, get out there and see the world. Plus, if they really want me that bad I’m sure they won’t mind waiting a few years, right?”

Olive shrugged at the last part but offered a sympathetic smile. “Hey, it’s your life, Wren, live it as you see fit.”

The pair continued to eat their meal, mostly talking about the tournament so far, and who they predicted to win. As Wren launched into a lengthy conversation about why a Vacuo team would be the winner, she noted her partner’s gaze shift to somewhere behind her.

“Don’t turn around.” Olive urged.

“What, why?”

But Wren had her answer when a familiar voice rang in her ears.

“Well, well, if it isn’t little Birdy!”

Wren swiftly turned around in her seat, spotting the person the voice belonged to. As if the day wasn’t bad enough already, the very man she and Lorelei had lost to, was approaching them, with an unusually tall man trailing behind him.

“That’s not my name.” Wren snapped, halting them in their tracks.

“What?”

“My name isn’t Birdy,” she said, “My name is Wren. Wren Honeycutt.”

Raleigh made a shrug, feigning an apologetic look for having gotten her name wrong. “So, what were you two talking about?”

“Who will win the tournament,” Wren responded, moving to turn away from them.

“Ah, so us then,” Raleigh said gesturing to himself and the man behind him.

“What, no!” Wren protested, having turned around to face them again. “Him, maybe,” She gestured towards the other man, “but you certainly don’t strike me as winning material.”

“Well you still lost to us didn’t you?”

Wren groaned, rolling her eyes a little.

“Tell me, Wren, are you a betting woman?” Raleigh suddenly asked.

Wren blinked in surprise, eyeing him suspiciously. “Depends. Why do you ask?”

“You seem so determined to believe we won’t win, so let’s have a little fun with it.” He responded. “Fifty Lien sound reasonable to you?”

“What are the terms first?” Wren cut in.

“Well, if you’re right and we do lose, I’ll obviously pay you fifty Lien, and I’ll treat you to a lovely gift from one of these stalls,” Raleigh began, taking a moment to pause so the first of his terms had time to sink in.

“The Lien would do fine, but if you want to go out of your way to spend more, go ahead,” Wren cut in, with a sweet smile playing on her lips. “I’m in need of a new pair of boots anyways.”

Raleigh studied her carefully for a moment, returning her smile, before finishing the terms of his little wager. “If I’m right, and we win, you owe me fifty Lien, and you have to go on a date with me.”

Wren’s brows raised in surprise, and beside her, she could hear Olive protesting against this. After a moment of thinking this over, she extended a hand for him to shake. “Deal.”

With a small chuckle, Raleigh reached out and shook her hand. With the deal now set, he and his friend took their leave. “I look forward to our date.” He said with a wink as they departed.

Wren and Olive watched them go, and once they were out earshot, Olive turned to her.

“I can’t believe you just made a bet with him,” Olive said shaking her head. “You know you’ll really have to go on a date with him if he wins.”

“Him winning?” Wren threw her head back in false laughter. “That won’t happen in a million years, especially not up against that Vacuo team. I’m just looking forward to my little gifts, as I said I’m in need of some new boots.”

Olive shook her head again, this time in a more amused fashion. “Just remember that when you come crawling to me complaining about having to go out with him then.”

“Oh, Livvy, you do worry too much sometimes,” Wren said, leaning over to pat her friend on the shoulder. “Trust me, it’s never going to happen.”

[sustraiii]

wren for the meme

Ayy I’m going to make this my last one, so as to avoid hitting spoiler territory. But anyways, have some details on Cordovan’s mama.

B A S I C S

full name: Wren Honeycutt

gender: Female

sexuality: Heteromantic Heterosexual

pronouns: She/Her

O T H E R S

family: Unnamed brother, Raleigh Radcliff (ex-husband), Cordovan Radcliff (son)

birthplace: Somewhere outside of central Atlas (possibly Klint)

job: Atlesian Specialist 

phobias: ?

guilty pleasures: ?

M O R A L S

morality alignment?: Lawful Good

sins - Pride, Envy

virtues - Diligence, Humility, Kindness, Patience, Justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert: Ambivert

organized/disorganized: Organized

close minded/open-minded: Open-minded

calm/anxious: Calm

disagreeable/agreeable: Agreeable

cautious/reckless: Cautious (most of the time)

patient/impatient: Patient

outspoken/reserved: Outspoken

leader/follower: Leader

empathetic/unemphatic: Empathetic

optimistic/pessimistic: Optimistic

traditional/modern: Modern

hard-working/lazy: Hard-working

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

otp: Young!Raleigh x Young!Wren

ot3: ?

brotp: Wren x Olive, Wren x Stanford

notp: Wren x Lorelei

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN - CHAPTER 6

Here's chapter 6! A bit of a short one in comparison to the last chapter, but this sets up for things to come!

CORDOVAN

It had been just over two weeks since the confrontation at Hargrave Manufacturing. Bruised and worn down, Cordovan had reflected later that same night, just how lucky they had been to escape. There had been a number of difficult enemies the team had faced since they formed, but none had elicited quite the same response as Wisteria had. Their first meeting might have been brief, but it had been enough to leave a lasting impression.

After escaping the factory, it had not taken long for police to arrive, as well as a growing crowd of workers who had come to see what was going on. After clearing up things with the police, they had been passed into the care of what at first appeared to be a more senior officer, although as it turned out she was in fact an Atlesian Specialist, and one who just so happened to be his mother.

When Wren Honeycutt had greeted her son warmly, Cordovan noted the looks of surprise forming on the faces of his teammates. The surprise wasn’t completely unwarranted he noted, as he didn’t really look much like his mother, save for a few shared facial features. After greeting the rest of his team, she offered to let them come home with her, which they all readily accepted.

It felt good being able to recuperate within the comforts of his own home. It was smaller than his childhood home, but after his parents had divorced and his father left, his mother had seen no point in continuing to live in such a large home, so they had moved to a smaller house closer to the heart of Atlas. Zelde and Neela had taken up the small spare room, whilst Cordovan sorted out a makeshift bed for Xanthos in his room. Out of all of them, Xanthos had suffered the worst from the fight with Candy and Wisteria, so was put on bed rest for a few days to give him chance to recover. They waited until he was up and moving before they told him what had happened at the Vytal festival.

They only learnt of what happened the day after the fight at Hargrave Manufacturing, after seeing the news reports, and having Wren confirm what details she knew. None of them really reacted very well to the news of what happened, though Xanthos at least took it better than Neela, who had let out a pained wail when she heard the news, frantically trying to reach her girlfriend on her scroll. Though as his mother sadly pointed out, with the CCT down, there was little chance of that happening anytime soon.

Their recovery had become a rather sombre affair after that, with much of their thoughts dedicated to their classmates who had yet to return or make contact from Beacon, as well as for Tilia. Around a week later, the team were finally able to complete their initial Search and Rescue mission for the Princeton’s, after their remaining supplies had been found at Hargrave Manufacturing.

It had felt good being to return the supplies to the Princeton’s, or what was left at them at least, but despite that, there was still a sense that things had been left unfinished. Especially in regards to Hargrave Manufacturing and what had happened there and with Candy and Wisteria escaping.

Cordovan had relayed these doubts to his mother, who listened with a sympathetic ear, before offering a potential solution. “You should speak with James as soon as you can,” she had suggested, catching her son by surprise by the casual usage of General Ironwood’s first name. “I suspect he would have wanted to reach out to you soon anyways, regarding what happened at Verdant Storage and Hargrave Manufacturing. See if he’s willing to look into Candy and Wisteria for you.” Wren had paused momentarily to look her son straight in the eyes. “I don’t like the idea of you going up against her again, Cor. You were lucky not to have come off any worse than you did in this first fight with her, I hate to imagine how another one would play out.”

With his mother’s suggestion noted, Cordovan decided to broach the topic with his teammates the following morning, asking them to meet him in the sitting room after breakfast. His mother would not be due back till later in the day, so the hours they had to themselves would be perfect to discuss this.

As he came back downstairs from freshening up after breakfast, Cordovan spotted Zelde looking at some of the photographs on display in the hallway. He could hear Xanthos and Neela already talking in the sitting room, so took a moment to look at the photographs with Zelde.

When she sensed his presence, she turned her head and gave him a weak smile, before looking back at the photographs. She seemed particularly focused on one of a much younger Cordovan. “You look very happy here,” she said softly. “I don’t think I ever smiled this much at this age.”

“Don’t be fooled by the smile,” Cordovan said with a slight grin. The younger version of himself in the photo had a large grin on his face. “Just minutes before that was taken I was crying my eyes out because I lost a tooth. My father had to bribe me with the promise of sweets just to get me to smile.” He could still remember that day fondly. At the promise of sweets he had soon settled down, but his mother had not been impressed when she learnt of the secret deal that had gone down between her husband and son.

Zelde was looking at him as he spoke, smiling softly as he recounted the story. When he finished she looked back at the photograph. “Your father sounds like he was a nice man.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Cordovan responded, voice trailing off. He didn't really have the best relationship with his father anymore but as a young boy he had greatly admired and looked up to him.

Zelde and Cordovan continued to look at the photos on display for a little while longer. Most of them were of him or his mother, those that had his father in had been put away long ago. Zelde picked up one photograph of a group of students around their age.

“Is this your mother's team?” She asked.

“Yep,” he responded, taking time to point out each member of the team in turn and give their name. “There's my mom, Lorelei, Olive, and Stanford. They went by WLOW when they were a team.”

The four youths were all smiling in the picture, though the red-haired Lorelei's could be better described as a forced smile. It was strange to think they were around the same age as ZRCN in this picture. His mother looked especially young here, wearing a casual cream coloured blouse tucked into a brown combat skirt. Her chestnut hair was worn loose save for a single braid to the side, which differed greatly from her now preferred style of having it in a neat ponytail.

“Hate to interrupt the lovely bonding session going on out here, but I thought we were supposed to be discussing what to do next?” Xanthos's voice sounded from behind them. As Zelde put the photo back down, Cordovan turned to see Xanthos leaning against the doorframe.

“We were just coming, Ravi.” Cordovan said, following Zelde in brushing past him into the sitting room.

Neela, Xanthos, and Zelde all settled themselves on a sofa, whilst Cordovan seated himself in an armchair adjacent to it.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Zelde asked drawing up his legs so he was sat cross-legged on the sofa.

“Well, it's about what we should do next,” Cordovan started, earning some confused looks from his teammates.

“What do you mean?” Neela questioned. “We completed our mission. I thought we were taking things easy whilst things were sorted out from Beacon.”

“That's true, but I can't be the only one who feels as though we haven't finished just yet, as though we still have more to do.” Cordovan responded, eyeing his teammates in turn. “Candy and Wisteria are still out there, and we still don't really understand what role the Hargraves play into this.”

A little murmur of agreement went up from his teammates. It was Xanthos who spoke next.

“So what do you suggest we do? Do an unsanctioned mission to take them down?” Xanthos paused a moment, before adding in a more enthusiastic voice, “Cause I'd totally be down for that.”

“Ravi, please,” Zelde warned, shooting him a glance. “We can't just do that. We'd need to tell someone first.”

“Exactly!” Cordovan cut in, making Zelde jump in surprise. “I spoke to my mother about this yesterday, and suggested we speak to General Ironwood about this, see if he'd be willing to help us look into things, and maybe even sanction another mission to resolve things with Candy or Wisteria.”

“Hmm, that sounds reasonable,” Zelde admitted after a few minutes of consideration.

Cordovan nodded in approval. “Great. So are we all okay with this?”

“I don't have a problem with it,” Zelde responded quickly.

“Neither do I.” Neela and Xanthos both said at the same time.

“So it's decided then.” Cordovan said with another approving nod. “I'll send a message General Ironwood's way and hopefully we won't have to wait long to hear back from him.”